Ashteri: the beginning
by Debbiewrightnow
Summary: the world as it was once known was destroyed by global warming and humans and it has now become A.L.U. Sasuke is a twenty five year old prodigy in computer engineering who really hates natural things and has a lot of phobias but he has to travel to the last forest in the world in search of his grandfather but instead finds a bucket of strange.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Sasuke got down on the bushy path his backpack carefully in his hand. He knew he looked old fashioned still carrying a bag pack instead of using the UL carry, a device that shrinks things so that they can easily be moved. It was meant to be used to hold large equipments but it has been reinvented as a sort of luggage in and of itself.

The main reason why Sasuke still had something as old as a bag pack was because of his grandfather, an old-fashioned scientist who still held onto artifacts from old world, before it became known as A.L.U. The backpack isn't quite as old as some of the things Sasuke's grandfather carried with him and kept in his beaten down antique home; one of the few homes that was still seating on the few piece of landing remaining from the great flood when the ice melted, and the chemical explosion that poisoned everything.

The backpack was nice as it gave Sasuke something to squeeze now to keep himself from running away from all this.

As an A.L.U born and bred human person, he naturally hated all things natural. In the present world, flowers, trees and animals were mostly artificial, things that were computerized into existence. The whole of was a big computer; it was that computer that has allowed the surviving generations to live while enclosed away from the dangerous poison water and the polluted air, so things like trees, bugs and even the sand under Sasuke's feet were really terrifying.

But he needed to do this, he needed to be here.

He gave the back pack another squeeze and turned to see the men get off the rider. One was as tall as a tree, the other short and plumb. These were the only people the company could spare? Had he mistakenly thought that his grandfather was indispensable to them?

The company was the major party responsible for life on A.L.U and Sasuke's grandfather worked for them. He was a crazy scientist, who, as far as Sasuke was aware, went missing two weeks ago.

He was the one who singlehandedly raised Sasuke after his parents disappearance. He was crazy and always got Sasuke injured with his experiments but he was the only family Sasuke had left.

The messages stopped coming four years after Sasuke went to the university to study computer engineering against his grandfather's wishes.

Actually, Sasuke had wanted to escape the old man and his land. The land was scary and that was all Sasuke remembered about why he abandoned his grandfather and went into A.L.U and now his grandfather has disappeared. It was on his shoulders to find him. Unlike with his parents, Sasuke would not rest until he does.

"We are ready to start moving sir!"

Sasuke held in a sigh and said:"don't call me that. Are we ready to leave?"

"Yes, all set." The plumb man whose name was either Sheri or Sherack said. They were awfully excited which was grating on Sasuke's last nerve. He didn't come here for a vacation. Actually this was the last place he wanted to be at the moment. Or any other moment.

His eyes couldn't avoid it anymore. Sasuke looked toward the black mass of trees thickly positioned together with their twisting vines and their broad leaves. Though it was day time, it looked like it was dark inside.

This was Intos forest, the last forest in the whole world. As far as the company was aware, this was the last place Sasuke's grandfather had been working. Only upon the threat of releasing some confidential information had the company been willing to release this information. It was all he had and he had to check this place from top to bottom to find his grandfather. This was all he could do to pay back all that he owed and it was just too sad to have another family member disappear too.

"What's wrong sir, did you forget something?"

Sasuke did not reply, he didn't want them to hear any tremor in his voice. He lowered his head and clenched the strap of his bag pack again.

"Alright, let's—"he cut off when his eyes landed on a boy standing over the black water in front of the forest to the right. He was shirtless and had yellow hair and he was looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke's breath died in his throat. What—

He didn't finish his thought before the boy jumped into the black water and disappeared.

"Wait!" he shouted.

"What is wrong, sir?" beside him the two men were also anxious.

"That boy, he just jumped into the water."

"Boy?" the confused men looked about like their eyes had failed them. "What boy?"

"You want to tell me you didn't see him?" Sasuke shook his head. The boy looked to be about sixteen or seventeen and he just jumped into that dangerous water that flowed from the forest. There wasn't supposed to be anyone here, only animals. What is he?

Sasuke ignored the call of his companions and ran towards the river. The surface was like ink and it swayed in a way that made Sasuke want to revisit his breakfast. He looked from edge to edge and there was no one, no movement. No one was drowning. What was that then? A hallucination brought on by the wariness and fear from having to do this.

To his horror, Sasuke realized that he had unconsciously entered the forest without any mental preparation. He took two breaths to avoid panting then he located the men coming to him. At least, even as unreliable as they looked, he still had their company.

Releasing a puff of air, he walked towards them, "so you didn't see that boy," he said.

They looked at him as though he was speaking another language. "There isn't anyone here, sir."

Sasuke was certain of what he had seen, there was no doubt but it was pointless to keep insisting.

"You know there is a ban on people coming to Intos forest, no one wants to come here anyway, it is a dangerous place and so there can't be anyone here." The tall one, Long guy, 'kindly' explained. He was obviously saying that Sasuke was crazy for seeing something that wasn't there and for coming here.

Sasuke too didn't want to be there, he didn't wasn't to risk his life searching around a dangerous unexplored forest. He certainly wasn't the adventurous type, the only adventures he sees is the occasional trip down the basement to do his laundry in his grandfather's mansion. He liked it that way, but there was nothing he could do. The company didn't seem interested in finding his grandfather; they insisted he had gone there without their permission though it was clear that his grandfather had been working on something for them before he disappeared. Sasuke had found the papers littered across the desk in the study/ laboratory. He had studied them a bit but he was a bit skeptical about it. It looked like his grandfather was working on something really strange— no, not strange, absurd.

"Anyway," he said, "let's get started." He waited patiently. They didn't move.

"What is it?" he had to ask, confused by their lack of motion. Long Guy and Sheri looked like they were expecting something from him.

"Well, you have to tell us where we have to go, Sir."

"What?!" Sasuke thought his ears had fallen off. "What do you mean? Start taking me to the site."

"Isn't that… isn't that something you are supposed to tell us, Sir"

Sasuke pretended to laugh, this was ridiculous. "Me? I am supposed to tell you? "He shook his head in disbelief. "Just how am I supposed to tell you? Am I a staff of the company, where you not asked to guide me?"

"No."

He paused, staring at Sheri. "No?"

"We were told to protect you, to make sure that you return. we don't know where the site is." Long guy sure was eloquent all of a sudden.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. So what was this, a placation? Let him go wonder the forest and come back empty handed? Sasuke laughed to the heavens and blew out air forcefully.

If they thought this would make him give up, they had another think coming.

"Okay, fine. Let's go." He declared confidently and forcefully began to climb the hilly path to the dark place in front of him.

It was unsettling and very quiet inside the forest. As they got to the trees, Sasuke thought they might need to pull out the lights earlier than expected, but as he pressed on, his sneakers growing muddier by the second, the darkness did not grow. It did become a bit dim, but it was still bright enough to see. The sky had not been completely covered by the leaves and the vines though very twisty and looked like snakes in the air; they soon stopped making Sasuke's heart skip and his fingers tense.

The ground seemed to be always wet, and the soil a dark chocolate brown. It was really quiet too, which suited Sasuke just fine but he still needed to find a plan fast. If he didn't even know where he was going, then finding his grandfather in this place could prove impossible.

It was not known how big Intos forest is, it has never been explored. In fact, it was said that the forest isn't supposed to exist, but it always felt to him like a scare tactic created by the company to keep people from trying to explore it.

Thinking back to his father's experiments, he had been making something big, something that would need a big space. Seeing as the forest is thickly enclosed by trees, a large space should be easy to spot.

He stopped and Long guy walked into him and they nearly went tumbling. Walking into the forest had felt like climbing a really steep hill and at some point it had changed to climbing down the same steep hill. If they should fall, it would be a dangerous roll down.

"Watch where you are going, "Sasuke barely held himself from snapping.

"Yes sir, so sorry."

"Look, I want you to climb one of those trees." He turned and said to the man. Long guy's face went really white.

"What? You want me to climb, "he looked at the long moss covered length of one tree. "Why?"

"I need you to look for something," he replied, "you can at least do that much," he said.

"I-I don't know how to climb, Sheri should do it" he stepped out of the way and pushed the plumb man into Sasuke's face.

"What? I can't climb either,"

"Then do you want me to climb it?" Sasuke snapped at them. They looked like they would start nodding. Between Sasuke and them, who looked like they have no experience with trees and climbing?

Sasuke looked at Sheri's short arms and Long guy's long thin legs. These people are not going to be much help, are they? He couldn't help thinking.

"Forget it. "He pulled his backpack to the front and opened it to ransack through the things inside. He should have brought that droid he designed, hadn't he?

Yes, the black bug like shape touched his hand and he pulled it out. He took out the P7 he had with him, a device used for communication and browsing the net, then he programmed it to start capturing a video.

He set the bug to go straight and upwards. The little thing was just about the size of his palm and the P7 was pushed together so it was the same as the size of an artifact tooth brush. The bug magnate held it in place and the tiny legs started to move.

Sasuke set it on the tree and watched its slow climb.

He sighed. This would take forever. He turned around and found his protectors moving about exploring leaves after leaves.

"Wow, this is mushroom, do you know how much you can get for this?"

He heard snippets of the conversation and stood with his hand tucked in his pocket. The life he had left behind began to plague him. To his one friend he had left only a letter begging her to help him postpone his exams if he stayed too long away.

"It's still a month away, I can still make it." He nodded. It was the final exam and he was one of the prodigies in his department, he finished his entire schooling on scholarship because his grandfather refused to pay for his tuition. It was too important that he be present with the rest of the class to graduate, it was likely he would get recruited that day too. If they could just hold it back a little.

When he tracked the bug, it was almost halfway up. He looked to his companion and found them gone. He didn't panic at first and kept waiting to hear their thick and heavy voices.

They were gone. "Long guy?" he called. " Sheri. "

They... where could they have gone?

Sasuke didn't want to move from this spot, he still had to stop the droid once it gets to the top otherwise it would keep going and likely fall off. He only had the one. He sighed and looked up at the droid that was almost at the top.

"Those two, they can't be in trouble right now, can they? They can't be that helpless." He nodded but his eyes searched around for them and his ears listened. It was still too quiet and Long guy and Sheri were nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it," he stopped the drone just as it would reach the top and turned towards the direction he had last seen his burdensome companions.

"Maybe I should have come alone," he grumbled to himself. There was no restriction in coming to Intos forest, or rather there were no publicly stated restriction, the company wanted to draw as little attention to the strange forest as possible. Sasuke never cared to know why.

As he walked his sneakers squishing and snapping as they pressed on the muddy ground and on twigs. He looked around and all he could see was trees, grass and nothing else.

The time of day was hard to tell because he wasn't used to being outside and the sun after many years had become quite unpredictable. The forest was the color of the sky just before dawn or a storm. A little brighter perhaps.

He stopped not too far from where his droid was still waiting and called for them again. It was ridiculous that they were so fearless and careless to just wander off very far. It was ridiculous and annoying.

Sasuke tried not to get angry too much all on his own, if he finds them then he would make sure to show his anger then in very heavy and meaningful words.

He started to walk again but something black moved pretty fast between the trees and stopped. Sasuke stayed silent even as his heart nearly flew out of his chest. What kind of animal that could have been was already racing through his head like an encyclopedia.

The original animals that have become extinct but may live in Intos forest include the following: cats, snakes, apes, lizards, elephants, kangaroos. Many dangerous animals whose information has been lost to the damage of the flooding may still live in the Intos forest. Ensure to avoid it and always stay within the protection of A.L.U

And there were some drawings and pictures of these animals that no one has seen since A.L.U was created. Being a modern bred and intelligent man of twenty five, of course Sasuke had checked up what kind of animals would be in this antique forest and of course how to deal with them. There was only one solution.

While ignoring his racing heart, Sasuke kept his eyes glued to any sudden movements. Without preamble, he pulled his backpack to the front and unzipped it. He grabbed a hold of the long object just as something caused a twig to snap.

He pulled it out and pointed it around with shaking hands, his eyes wide and darting around from corner to corner.

"wh-who is there?" there was only the wind ruffling the leaves. He turned around and the forest seemed to have enlarged itself and spun before his vision, or was that him spinning.

Sasuke felt like he was going to be sick from fear and he was starting to sweat in anxiety. What should he do? There was no one here to help him and he was powerless when it came to physical fight. He couldn't remember the last time he did something like excising.

The fire gun in his hand that can shoot out a rope like bullet of fire was all he had and even that he wasn't great at using. Still he held it tight.

Movement to the left. Sasuke fired. It was a warning shot as he could still not see what was trying to come after him.

The fire shut out and landed on a branch of tree and without delay exploded and started to burn fast.

Something hissed from behind the tree and flew out.

Sasuke screamed on top of his longer and started to run back up. The thing was fast and was already within touching distance by the time Sasuke took one leg backwards, luckily his scared fingers pulled the trigger on reflex continuously and it caught the animal on the face.

It howled and fell, its black fur on fire.

Sasuke didn't get a chance to be relieved because others came rushing out as though they've been there the whole time and were given a signal to move at once. They rushed down from tree tops, from between the grasses and they had brown and black furs. They were called chimpanzees.

Sasuke knew he was doomed. That didn't stop him from cursing and firing the fire gun as he ran away to the entrance of the forest, his only hope was that they wouldn't follow him out of Intos forest, they shouldn't. They flooded him from all sides and though they seemed to be cautiously giving him some space due to his weapon, they were surrounding him.

Sasuke ran till he was back at the tree and pressed his back to it breathing fast. Before him was a crowd of loud chirruping chimpanzees and they stared at him with red terrifying eyes. Sasuke couldn't think but he knew there was no way out. He was dead, even before he started. Naturally, his life story had to end somewhere like this. It was fitting.

Still shooting, Sasuke wished he had brought something to use on himself. Death by being eaten alive was just too much. Being burnt alive wasn't much better.

He thought of something and aimed for the grass around him hoping that it would form a circle of protection but the fire caught and didn't spread.

"Damn it," he cried, sweating all over and shaking in fright.

"I'm going to be eaten alive." He shouldn't have to die like this. Why like this?

As the last fire bullet flew out of his gun, Sasuke screamed for help and crouched, covering his head from what was to come next.

What came next was the shouting of the animals. They were being even louder than before. Sasuke lowered his hand and just in time for a chimpanzee to fly over to him

He avoided it by screaming and crouch-walking to the side. The chimpanzee smashed into the tree and fell dead. A scream died in Sasuke's throat and he stared at the open eyes of the animal. He looked away and saw something more frightening than anything anyone could ever conjure up.

"What-" his voice shook and his throat shivered.

It was a snake. It looked like a cobra but it had golden skin and it was huge. It was as huge as a house. It was that big and it was crushing the chimpanzee with his weight.

Sasuke was ready to die just then, it felt like his spirit had taken leave and went back to A.L.U without him. While he tried to make sense of things in front of him, it was impossible and he kept short circuiting on the big snake that was killing the chimpanzees.

The numbers of the chimpanzees reduce as they were now gone from around Sasuke. Although he wanted to stand up and run, wanted to leave this place and never return, his legs were frozen and his eyes couldn't move from the snake.

"I never, I never," he kept repeating it over again.

The snake got closer and it stared down transfixed at Sasuke with the strangest blue eyes. It was too much. Sasuke's heart was beating too fast, his vision went blurry and he fell back on the tree unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was only a moment. That was what it felt like to Sasuke. He had fallen unconscious for a single moment. When he opened his eyes, he was confused and disoriented. It felt like he was moving but his legs were not touching the ground. The sky was strange. No, not the sky, this was inside a building, the ceiling of a building. It was with bright light and walls on both sides.

He turned his head and met blue eyes. They stared at each other for two or three seconds and the one to react was Sasuke with an ear splitting scream and without any restraint. The person whom those eyes belonged to looked at him unspeaking.

Sasuke struggled, still shouting for an unknown person, anyone to come help him. His struggle got him falling hard on the floor with his side. That hurt and choked off his screams, causing him to start coughing.

That person, that person had let him go. He had dropped Sasuke on the floor like a bag of old boots.

"What the hell," he coughed still holding his aching side. Then he looked up and it was a familiar face that looked down coldly at him. It was him, that boy from the lake.

"You," he pointed.

The boy didn't say a word and saucily walked around Sasuke, leaving him on the floor. So rude.

"Hey," Sasuke rose to his feet and pointed at the shirtless back. "How can you drop a person like that and on this hard floor?"

The person did not reply and just opened a door at the end of the corridor.

"Hey," Sasuke has had his fair share of rudeness after all; he has been tutor to some rich and arrogant students, that's how he has funded his education up till now. "You have to reply when someone is talking to you."

The blue eyes met his and Sasuke froze in fright. Why did he have eyes like that? It was too blue to be real. In A.L.U people who have done surgeries all over the body so they had features that were fictional wasn't unusual. In fact, it was unusual for there to be someone who hasn't done at least one. Yet those eyes were really unusual, or maybe Sasuke just thought so because of that snake. What had happened to it? How had he been rescued?

The boy opened his mouth as though he could read Sasuke's thoughts and had the answers to all his questions. "Come here," he said.

His voice was coarse and young and the way he spoke seemed like he didn't really know how to speak Japanese or had a speech impairment.

"What? Are you giving me a command right now?" Sasuke blinked at him.

The boy sighed and continued looking at him,

"Who are you "Sasuke asked, deciding to get some answers. "Where is this place, how did I get here. Were you carrying me just now?"

No answer was fast coming. Sasuke frowned and leaned forward, "do you not understand what I am saying?"

The boy let go of the door he was holding and started walking towards Sasuke. The focused eyes and the steady way he was looking at Sasuke were a bit worrying and Sasuke took a cautious step back, but tanned arms circled his back before he could run away. He stared at it in confusion then blinked at the face now close to his.

"wh-what are you doing," his voice shook and he held up his hands reflexively. Hard cold chest touched his fingers slightly and made him shiver. This person was so cold, too cold and it can't be normal, and he was shirtless. Why the hell was he shirtless?

Before he could speak again he was being flipped from his feet and into the arms of the boy, who was at least ten years younger than him.

Stunned into silence, Sasuke didn't say anything until he was brought to the door and then thrown into a white room without windows.

It hurt. It hurt. Groaning in pain on the floor, Sasuke rolled into a seating position and held his sides that were injured.

"Just what are you doing?! Are you out of your mind?!" it's been a while since Sasuke raised his voice. This was the second time this Dobe has thrown him down like some deranged wrestler from the olden days.

The door was about to be rolled closed by his silent assaulter. Sasuke scrambled for it and pushed his face between causing the boy to stop.

"wh-who are you, what is all this? Are you—am I a prisoner?"

The sudden thought was shocking to the point Sasuke thought he would faint. If he thought about it, there was no way he had gotten away from that nightmare unscathed.

_Don't tell me—are they going to feed me to that giant snake?_

"No!" all his fears came to light in his mind and he could only grab onto the leg of the boy.

"Let me go! Why are you doing this to me?" he screamed. "I don't mean anyone any harm, I'm just here to look for my grandfather. I don't want to stay here either, I don't want anything, just let me go!"

A foot smashed into his head so bad he fell away, letting go of the leg-lifeline

"Ah shut up," the person who had said this was not the blonde boy. Sasuke blinked a few times then a boy of the same height with brown hair and colored marks drawn on his face showed up. "So noisy."

In his hand he was holding a club. Did he just use that to hit Sasuke? He was speechlessly looking, too terrified to form words.

"Just stay in your cage quietly, got that?" he scratched his heavy head of brown shaggy hair and smashed the door closed.

Was that a dog ear he just saw on the boy's head?

Sasuke shook his head to break the image away then he rubbed his head and went to the door to start hammering on it but paused with his fist raised.

"Let's calm down Sasuke. Let's think rationally about this"

He lowered himself to his knees and lowered his head to slow his panicked breathing. It felt like there wasn't enough air. There were no windows, just walls, unending walls. It made it hard to focus on thought so he started the breathing exercise.

Breath in, count one, breath out, count two, breath in, count three.

It worked and lowered his aggravated blood pressure by a lot.

"So," he muttered and tried to focus on the small window in the door. He stood and looked through it. "This must be some kind of experimenting building," he concluded.

There were other doors around and Sasuke had noticed many modern equipment coming here. The doors looked open and there was no subject in there. His heart skipped as he thought that wasn't true, he could be the only experimental subject in here. This could, as matter of fact, be the food storage area and he was being kept in stock, for now.

Finding his breathing climbing again, Sasuke muttered lowly, "Don't panic, think. Think Sasuke"

"Think Sasuke!" his grandfather's voice overlapped his. "You never think, now you've got yourself hurt. Stop crying, you are not a child!"

Sasuke took a breath. Funny how in this situation his grandfather's cold voice was what pulled his focus straight.

Yes, he was in the forest and was being attacked by hordes of chimpanzees. If that was true, then that—that snake was also true. Then after that, did the company appear to save him?

"No, those two don't look like they belong with the company and that boy, he was the same one, the one that disappeared into the water."

Seeing as he knows his way around then he was probably a native of Intos forest. Then if that can be believed, that meant he was rescued by the natives of the forest?

No, that doesn't agree with the setting. If it was a native then why was he saved and why was he brought here? Looking at the place, this can only be produced by A.L.U. if the story of there being no other survivors anywhere in the world is to be believed, then…

"Could this be…" Sasuke took a step back, eyes trembling. "Could this be grandfather's facility?" then, his grandfather had rescued him.

A sigh escaped his mouth. At the back of his mind he had thought briefly of the possibility that the man was dead, after all he was an eighty years old man. But this made sense, this answered all the questions.

Relieved, Sasuke sat on the floor and looked at the door, waiting.

A day went by and no one came to look for him. His grandfather must be annoyed that Sasuke came to look for him when it was so dangerous. Sasuke understood that, it was possible, but locking him away without food, was his grandfather that cruel?

Sasuke thought about it and remembered an old memory from when he was five years old. His parents had vanished when he was four and the institution finally gave his grandfather full custody of him.

"Now that you are here, just do what you want, don't bother me." he brushed past with his back hunched, his white balding head bowed calculating another project.

When he was like that, no one existed for his grandfather, not even the younger and hurting Sasuke.

He remembered going to bed without food a few times and sleeping alone, pulling the blankets over his head because he was scared of the dark and the wood hitting his window.

Sasuke lowered his head and sighed. He rubbed his eyes that were severely sleep deprived. He had not been sleeping very much with the exams so close and he wasn't much of a sleeper anyway and his grandfather's disappearance didn't help at all.

After what felt like a whole day the door was pulled open. Sasuke scrambled to his feet. The person coming turned out to be not his grandfather but the golden haired youth.

Blue eyes met black eyes and paused. They looked at each other, Sasuke with so much to say but not sure which to start with, the youth with only the heavens knows what in his mind.

"Where—"

"Is this you?" a photo was thrust in front of him. Sasuke adjusted his vision to stare at the picture. He blinked a couple of times opened mouth, with the rest of his words caught in his throat.

"wh-why do you have that?"

"Is this you is what I asked," the accent was really something. Who talks like that? Even none Japanese speakers don't have that kind of tone.

"Why?" Sasuke asked with some traces of annoyance that made his brows twitched, "Why do you want to know. Why should I tell you when you haven't said anything to me? "

The blonde brows squeezed together and he pulled the picture away. Sasuke was sure he would walk out then, he was ready to jump to his knees and beg, he couldn't take another day in this white space of nothingness with only his memories for company.

"What do you want to know?"

Sasuke thought his ears were deceiving him. "What? Are you going to answer me?"

He nodded like a string held his head stiff .

Sasuke was a bit speechless, but then he cleared his throat. "Who are you and what is this place, why are you keeping me here?"

A finger was thrust forward startling Sasuke to silence. "wh-what are you doing?"

"Can only answer one of your questions," the boy said, Sasuke had to listen closely, and thankfully he talked slowly.

"Why?" he asked, not about to take that. Just what was that?

"You, who you are, are not clear."

Sasuke took a moment to digest that. 'Oh you mean you don't trust me?" he asked.

"Yes, trust."

"Ah, well, I don't trust you either, but I guess we have to give each other some leeway."

"Okay, tell me, who are you?"

He seemed to think about it. "I have many names," he said, "I am mostly called Ashteri, but the old man called me Naruto."

"The old man! Are you referring to my grandfather?!" Sasuke jumped at the most important thing.

"Grandfather," he paused and then held up the picture again , "then is this you?"

Sasuke looked at the picture. It was obvious he was the one in that picture, a four year old him holding a water ball and grinning.

He nodded, "yes, that's me." he looked away from the picture. "How did you get it?"

"The old man, he always have this on him. He always talk about him to us."

"So it really is my grandfather. Tell me where he is, I need to see him."

He must have startled the youth because when he grabbed the cold hand blue eyes went wide and his mouth fell open . They looked at each other then Sasuke uncomfortably had to let go.

"Sorry," he lowered his head, " I'm just in a hurry to see him. He is here isn't he?"

"He was," that dog like bastard who had smashed Sasuke's head stood at the door. "Why did you come here to see him, Naruto?"

Naruto turned and regarded his partner, "I came to see this," he held up the photo.

"What? Don't tell me," the dog guy leaned forward and peered between Sasuke and the picture. "It doesn't look like him at all. This one's head is way bigger, his legs are even longer."

Sasuke scoffed, "that's because I grew up, idiot."

"What did you just call me? Idiot? That's an insult isn't it?"

Now that Sasuke thought about it, this psycho had the same speech problem but not as bad as Naruto.

"If I smack your lips it will seal shut forever."

"Your head is obviously empty if you think your hand can seal my lips forever."

"What? This rude jerk!" Sasuke shrank back wide eyed when the dog guy came rushing towards him. The look in his eyes screamed that he was going to hurt Sasuke and having never been in a fight before, he had no way of defending himself against this athletic looking asshole.

Naruto stood in front of him his tanned back facing Sasuke and hissed so loud and clear, and there was a faint but obvious vibration, the cell seemed to tremble. Sasuke stared in shocked silence wondering if he was losing it, because it looked like those blue eyes just turned slit like a snake's and there was a fang poking out from his opened mouth. What the hell is all this?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Don't interfere," said Naruto when he was done hissing. The dog guy just stared and looked cowered, subdued.

Naruto turned to Sasuke and he had to peel himself from the wall he was hanging onto to escape the weirdness of it all.

"Don't be afraid. "

Sasuke didn't know how to calm his racing heart, but he kept a cool expression and stood straight, staring ahead.

"wh-what are you going to do to me?"He asked, the slight tremor in his voice given it all away.

"First," Naruto turned around and walked out of the cell then stood outside. He looked like he was waiting.

"Are you asking me to come out?"

A nod. Sasuke looked at the dog guy who had fallen silent at the side. He was glaring ferociously, his eye color was really weird, after all it was a bright yellow. Nothing like the ones done by surgery Sasuke had seen in A.L.U

He hurried past him, ignoring everything. If he thought too hard about this then he wouldn't be able to keep from being afraid. How and why was he in a situation with two terrifying, animal like behaving teenagers?

"You are going to take me to my grandfather, right?"Naruto glanced at the dog guy.

"We can't, but we have something to show you."

"ah, okay."

It was already uncomfortable, there was no reason to act out and cause a ruckus because they weren't taking him to meet his grandfather first.

"Naruto, are you sure you want to show him that place, you don't know who he is." This was obviously not Sasuke. The dog guy who was never on his side was speaking behind him

"I can smell it."

Smell? Sasuke was tempted to sniff around himself but held back while staring at Naruto with something akin to the way one would stare at train about to crash with another faster moving train.

"The smell of how he was born," he said. "The old man must have been around him a lot at one time many."

"We have all been around the old man, even the enemy, of course they smell like him."

"Not like this."

The silence was maddening and Sasuke felt like he was caught between fascination and indignation.

"Not… like this." The dog guy walked towards Sasuke and bumped his shoulder roughly, "if you get in trouble, don't say I didn't tell you."

After that he marched off like he owned the world. Why was he so rude at that age?

"Just who—is he?" Sasuke held back the urge to cuss.

Blue eyes were still as unsettling as ever. "He is called Cando, but the old man gave him another name. Kiba. He and I are family. You know family."

"em, I know family. Yes, that's why I am here. I need to see my grandfather can you take to see him first then later we can see whatever it is you want to show me?"

It can't be anything normal, Sasuke thought.

The silence stretched too long. "The old man is not here," he finally said.

"What?"

"The old man is not here"

"Don't just repeat yourself, I heard you the first time!"

"Then why did you asked?" his brows quirked in blatant confusion

"because," Sasuke took a breath, he needed it, "you already told me that you know my grandfather and naturally since this place is like this, my grandfather should be here. Why isn't he? Did he go on an errand, to explore or something like that?"

The words seemed to trouble Naruto and he turned his head with a frown. "The old man didn't go on any errand and explore. He has—he has disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"yes." That single respond made a balloon of exasperation build up in Sasuke's chest.

"how, when, did he not say anything before he disappeared, don't you have some idea of where he disappeared to do you even know if he is safe or alive, do you even know anything?!"

He was out of breath by the time he was done. There was a limit to how much he can tolerate, this was becoming unbelievable.

"That is too much information," Naruto responded after a moment of silently staring at Sasuke. "Will knowing that help you?"

"It would be a start. Just what kind of assistant are you to my grandfather, you are not smart at all." Irritated, Sasuke let his true feelings out. "You know now that I am my grandfather's grandson, and yet you didn't think you should tell me that he has disappeared. You don't know how worried I am."

"Worried. If that's the case then," he took Sasuke's hand so suddenly and so confidently, his fingers wrapping his hand and then began to pull him along, Sasuke was stunned speechless.

Until he was pulled into a small room and the light inside turned on before he realized what was happening. He pulled his hand back like a flinch and held it to his chest.

"What's wrong?"

"n-nothing." _You are too cold_. He peered around the room and the question died in his throat. Without asking he knew where this was.

His grandfather's things were scattered everywhere and his working area was as chaotic as always.

Sasuke remembered the few times he had wondered into his grandfather's working place, usually when he was feeling too lonely or was sick with something. He would find his grandfather hunched over a pile of scattered papers scribbling over and over, spinning on his stool to grab a paper from the top shelf.

"Everything has its own order" he would say and continue.

Sasuke picked one paper, and on it was his grandfather's intelligible squabble. It made little sense to it. Under the paper was a shinning object.

"With this, you can see into the thoughts of animals, maybe even speak their language," grinning, his grandfather had once told him. Sasuke reached for it, the round crystalline body sparkled and then it sparked a memory.

An explosion. Fire and his injured arm stinging.

Shaking, Sasuke retrieved his hand.

"This is a picture of the old man," behind him Naruto was thankfully oblivious. Sasuke turned and looked at the picture. His grandfather stood alone on land in front of trees, Naruto stood there next to him.

Sasuke gave him a bleary look.

"Are you very reassured now?"

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Now that you are surrounded by the old man's things?"

Sasuke squinted, then he came to an understanding. "Oh this."

He took a look around again. "Yeah… this at least tells me that my grandfather was really here, but I still don't know where he is."

"In that case, come and see what I have to show you."

"What you have to show me?"

He didn't reply again but instead walked to the door without looking back. Sasuke had no choice but to follow. This kid sure didn't say much, Japanese most certainly was not his first language so maybe that's why he didn't say much.

Sasuke took in the white lit walls and the white lights. They were walking down a simple hallway with no doors and at the end was a door without handle. Once they arrived it automatically opened into a dark empty space. No, not empty, the things inside were shrouded in darkness.

The light flooded suddenly, hurting Sasuke's eyes so he had to hold up his arm to shield them. Soon his eyes adjusted to the glare of white and he slowly lowered his hand and pulled in breath.

Before him was the biggest laboratory he has ever seen and thanks to his grandfather he has seen many, but none of them were as big as this.

There were several equipments he recognized, the blood transfusion equipment, the external analysis check equipment and others he didn't bother to name. All were unique and focused on blood work and anatomic analysis.

"What—what was he doing?" Sasuke took the steps down to the floor part of the laboratory. He turned around in circle taking everything in. This wasn't something only one person could have been working on but the company had said with quasim that his grandfather was simply carrying out a simple company assignment on his own. But was he? Is this another secret being covered up?

Sasuke turned and there was no way he could miss the floating human in the water tube in front of him. He thought he was seeing things so he stood there staring.

He felt something brush him and nearly flew out of his skin. It was none other than Naruto. A curse was on his tongue to pay for his galloping heart. He swallowed it and closed his eyes to get back his cool.

"What is this?"

There was no responds. Sasuke knew that his strange new companion was usually mute but he needed answers. His neck snapped sideways, a glare at the ready and some well scripted words were about to be said but he stopped at the look on Naruto's face when he was staring at the floating person.

Up until now, he has been with a poker face, occasionally showing some confusion, but right down an emotion was there. Sadness.

"Is that someone you know?" he asked.

A nod.

"Why is she in there? Can you tell me what this place is."

After a moment with the question hanging in there like a free gift no one asked for, Naruto turned to face him and said: "you should know."

Sasuke would have cleaned his ears but he leaned forward instead. "I should know? How would I know, I just got here."

"You are the old man's family."

"Uh, that doesn't mean—"

"You have to finish the work." He pointed at the floating person. "You have to wake her."

Sasuke stood speechless for the nth time. Naruto's gaze was piercing and they held anticipation or was it hope. "I—"

Sasuke felt that Naruto was really mistaken about something. Did he show Sasuke this because he thought he could do something about it? What is this supposed to be? Exactly what kind of situation was this?

Seeing that look, it was difficult to just break it out, but there was no need dragging it out. "I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do about that."

"The old man said that you would come, he said that you would be able to fix everything."

Sasuke laughed dryly. Was that really his grandfather? Maybe they were both confused about something.

"I don't know who said something like that, but I can't fix anything. I can barely hold on to my scholarship and I am hoping that I would be recruited as soon as I finished with college otherwise I am screwed. I don't really have any physical specs." He sighed and faced the confused frown.

"Listen," he sighed, "we just need to find my grandfather and then he can fix whatever went wrong, okay."

He turned to leave the libratory but Naruto was not following. Sasuke closed his eyes and looked up with a heavy sigh. He turned and looked at the shirtless back. It seemed that he wouldn't be moving anytime soon. Leaving him alone was probably wise.

Sasuke walked out of that room and went back how he came. He walked back into his grandfather's office and looked around for clues. Something must have caused his grandfather to step out especially when something like that has happened.

"You couldn't do it could you?"

Startled, Sasuke spun around. By the door staring with his yellow eyes was Kiba. He looked like he was thinking of something funny.

"Who are you really?" he stepped more into the room. Sasuke stood his ground despite the urge to step back.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke."

"And you are the old man's family?"

He nodded.

"What a family you are. You abandoned your family and went chasing after other things."

Sasuke stared opened mouth. Grandfather had become too much, he kept insisting that Sasuke go into science engineering which Sasuke would never do, would rather die than do, he wanted to move into A.L.U, where people are. Was that so bad? Was it wrong to want to be around people who would see him? Who wouldn't be so obsessed that they forget the existence of their family? Really, isn't it grandfather that left him first. He spent seventeen years in that house almost like a ghost.

"What do you know?"

"I know that we can't trust you, that we need to get rid of you."

The way he said that sent a spike of fear in Sasuke but he kept cool.

"If you cared so much, then how come you lost my grandfather?" he threw the question like a sky diver grasping at the wind when his equipment failed, but that provoked a reaction of recoil then of anger.

"We didn't! "

Sasuke raised his shoulders, "looks like you did."

"Shut up, you stupid human, I could eat you for lunch."

That was an interesting thing to say but Sasuke pretended not to hear. "I will probably taste like poison in your mouth and give you stomach ache till you die."

Kiba smiled suddenly," your mouth is very sharp, I think you need to understand your situation a bit." He rushed forward like a bull and grabbed Sasuke's collar and with it he took him off his feet and Sasuke could only struggle for air.

Violence like this, something like this, this was his first time experiencing it. No one fought in A.L.U

His heart was racing but he tried not to panic. "What are you doing? Let me go!"

"No, I need to show you just where you are," his smirk was evil and those yellow eyes have never looked more scary till then.

He didn't have to drag Sasuke tooth and nail and was carrying him in one hand like he weighed only as much as a cup of tea.

The walls flew by and then there were noises and when Sasuke opened his eyes he could easily make out at least twenty people in the room.

No, not people, monsters. Monsters everywhere.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

He was dropped carelessly from a fairly high place on his ass which hurt bad. Groaning, Sasuke didn't notice in time. The noises he could hear were the growling, hissing of animals. There were four kinds, a wolf, a tiger, a snake and spider surrounding him.

When he opened his eyes, he came face to face with the strangest things he has ever seen. Having been properly trained in A.L.U, Sasuke was aware that animals should have animal parts and what these parts looked like. Even as systemic and artificial as A.L.U keeps growing to be, the knowledge from the old world was never left to be forgotten. So this was really strange… and very frightening to see.

He scrambled away fast only to be stopped by the wall behind him. They were staring at him like he was strange and yet interesting. Interesting enough to be eaten alive. Even as much as Sasuke wanted to scream, the feeling growing stronger each time one of them moved closer— they were mostly cautiously staring and growling— Sasuke is caught noticing one feature after another that made his experience with the blue eyed snake and the chimpanzees seem like a good dream.

These monsters were strange… they were not normal, they, they have human features. The tiger leaning in to smell him had a human mouth and when its mouth opened it was covered in fangs.

Spluttering in fright, Sasuke shut his eyes away.

"Just what is this, Kiba?" his voice shook with hidden fear.

He opened his eyes and wished he had kept them close. A spider large enough to be a car with a pretty human face was at his feet and a wolf with human legs was sniffing his ear. They were cautiously drawing close in the way a pack of wolves does when they want to check if their food is edible. Sasuke was about to become food.

But there was someone talking among them.

"Move, all of you." The strength in the voice was undeniable.

One by one the monsters pulled away and in the middle was a man, a really good looking man. He was dressed elegantly in white suit. His cold white eyes looked at Sasuke like he was a little better that the sand and dust in the room, then he looked up at Kiba who was standing on a raised platform.

That dog like bastard must have dropped Sasuke all the way from there.

"What is this, Kiba?"

Sasuke was glaring too because while he was still pathetically on his ass, that was all he could do. The yellow eyes met his and then the broad shoulders shrugged. "What do you think, giving him some orientation."

"Should I inform Naruto about this orientation, I don't think you have."

There was a battle of wills done with the eyes and Kiba lost. Good.

"I went ahead of myself. It's just, he is too pompous, I don't like guys like him."

Sasuke snapped to his feet, all fear erased, and no traces left.

"You asshole," He swore. "I dare you to do that to me again."

Kiba leaned on the railing and smirked down.

"This will not. Happen. Again, understood, Kiba?" the new person was taking out Sasuke's anger for him.

"Fine, Neji, just get him out of my way. When I look at him," his yellow eyes pinned Sasuke, "I can't help it."

Then he walked away. "Just what did I do to annoy an asshole like that?"

"Sasuke-kun," being called that way was refreshing. It brought a feel of normal instead of the bouts of crazy that has been happening around him since he entered this forest. But when he turned, the half human animals were still there.

Sasuke jumped with a yelp at their frightening appearance. This type of animals, what were they?

Neji walked forward till he pulled Sasuke's vision to him. "You are the scientist's grandson?"

He spoke like a native of Japanese, one from a noble family in edo era.

"Um, yes."

He gave Sasuke a once over. "You don't look like a scientist."

Sasuke smiled wryly at his clothes, a simple shirt and grey suit pant

"I am not," he jumped on that fact. "Please don't confuse that."

"I see, you must have been to the laboratory. You must understand that your grandfather had a lot to say about you."

Sasuke lowered his eyes. For a man who didn't even know when Sasuke grew up, or when he won his first medal, his grandfather sure can talk like he knew him. Now he had these people confused.

"My grandfather, what happened to him?"

Neji took him on a tour around the facility which he called Aforum. It wasn't as complex as Sasuke had thought, just big. There was a cafeteria, a cabin passage which contained at least thirteen cabins—Sasuke had not gotten the chance to count them all—and there was the bathroom area, the quarantine area, the radiation room, the laboratory—thankfully Naruto was not there—and there was the scientist lodge, which only his grandfather used and the library and learning the room, the wards and finally Sasuke was taken to his grandfather's office, this time the light was turned on and he could clearly see the cramped space peppered all over with white sheets and his grandfather's writing.

"Are you not going to answer any of my questions?"

Through this unnecessary and semi-forced tour, Neji had not spoken one word about his grandfather. He had white eyes, very white eyes and Sasuke would have said he was blind if he wasn't navigating around so well on his own. And the fact that those strange eyes followed his movement attentively. However friendly this Neji guy wanted to appear, it was very obvious he did not trust Sasuke and this tour probably did not cover all there is to know. For one thing the place that looked like an experiment subject room was not among them.

He stood silently for one moment looking towards the untidy table and said nothing. Sasuke's patience had just about had it. He didn't care if he was being rude or careless anymore, "will you—"

Brown hair flew past his eyes and he flinched. "Your grandfather did important work while he was here, he was the only scientist who ever came that cared for us. He took us in and fed us, he was, is very important to us. "

The eyes were too fixed on Sasuke and he couldn't relax his tensed shoulders, "do you think if we know what has happened to him we would not say anything?"

"What?"

"One day, your grandfather walked out of here saying he would return. The one that followed him returned injured and unable to say what happened. We went and tracked him but his scent has disappeared. Even though we searched and the others too have searched, he, your grandfather, cannot be found. "

Sasuke speechlessly stared and then sighed so the tension would release from his shoulders. "When was this?" he asked.

"Three weeks ago."

"That's a week longer than I traced," Sasuke muttered. His grandfather's information that he had found at his antique house had led Sasuke to believe that he has been gone for no longer than two weeks but if he has disappeared even before that then things were not so good.

"Your grandfather knew that he would disappear, that is why we and the others have not tried too much to search for him."

"But there is a chance he disappeared in the forest. Did my grandfather look like he was leaving the forest, going home?"

"No, as we said, he did not say where he was going."

"The old man," from the door way his voice floated in. Sasuke turned and met blue eyes. "Was trying to talk with the chimpanzees. I wanted to come with him but he insisted that I stay behind."

Sasuke's skin prickled like it has been plucked. "The chimpanzees?"

"You saw them, " Naruto nodded.

Sasuke remembered his encounter with them and he wouldn't describe it as seeing them as they were trying to eat him. He shook the horror from his bones and returned his gaze to Naruto. "My grandfather wanted to t-talk with those things?"

"They are not things," he said with a curious frown. Something like he wasn't sure if he should be upset or confused. "The chimpanzees are the only ones left who have not come to us."

Sasuke held his gaze and confirmed again that there was something wrong with this youth. "Let me get this right. My grandfather went to talk to the chimpanzees, how will he do that," he laughed, "he can't exactly speak chimpanzee language."

The two people did not find it funny at all and were looking at him like there was something wrong with him. Hey, you guys are the crazy ones okay!

Sasuke swallowed in the silence and shook off the awkward feeling too. "Did my grandfather leave something like a diary or recording?"

They stared at him.

"Something he uses every morning to write all his thoughts and observations?" knowing his grandfather there should be a lot of it.

Neji walked to one of the table and rolled away some of the papers with careful long fingers. Sasuke walked over to him and watched. Under the chaos was something like an inver. He narrowed his eyes at it.

"That is…" breathing over his shoulder was none other Naruto. He was right beside Sasuke and though he wasn't as cold as before, he wasn't exactly warm either and has he never heard of personal space?

Trying his best not to be disturbed, Sasuke focused his eyes on the inver, a key of sort. "That is an inver right?"

"This opens the box, "Neji said. "The scientist would use this every time he worked." He picked it up and handed it to Sasuke but didn't let go even when Sasuke's fingers were wrapped around it. The inver looked like a short glowing tube covered at both end. Some invers have different colors, this one was glowing a light turquoise color.

He met the white eyes in askance. "Before you collect this, you must promise."

"Promise what?" Sasuke asked, his brows nearly touching his eyelids.

"To finish the work."

Work? He recalled the girl floating in the water.

"No," he let go of the inver in favor of raising his hands and shaking his head. "I can't promise that, I don't know anything about experiments and all that my grandfather was doing. I study computer engineering, get me a computer, any computer and I will bring it back to life but I can't do anything about that floating body, I mean girl."

Naruto had moved around him though he was still too close and was giving him a curious look, the same type Sasuke imagined people gave to unique animals in a zoo, even computerized animals can seem very real.

"Your grandfather was sure you would come, you have come, now you will finish the work, otherwise I cannot give you this." The inver was taken away and Sasuke reached out without thinking and grabbed the arm. It was thin and cold too under the white suit and… it felt scaly.

He lowered his eyes and felt something quivering under his fingers. He lowered his eyes further and saw the brown unfurling appendage. It rolled thin out of the sleeve and fell on the floor, rolling and twisting so Sasuke's stomach curled. He raised his eyes and was freighted to death by the scale growing rapidly over the handsome face of Neji.

The loud hiss and tumbling broke Sasuke into yelling. He let go and took a series of fast steps back. Neji looked like he would follow but Naruto was there and his arms went around Sasuke's waist and pushed him behind so he was being blocked from the scary sight.

The white eyes had become thick, the pale skin turned a bluish brown with scales all over.

"Neji! Control yourself!"

Cowering behind Naruto, Sasuke couldn't stop looking at that horrible, terrifying and impossible thing. Before his eyes was no longer a young man of about his age but a blue head snake. It wasn't as big as the snake from the forest but it was not small either. Its body crushed everything in the room. The person, Neji, was gone.

Screaming, Sasuke didn't care and turned to run but those arms embraced him. "Don't run," he whispered, "your fear excite Neji."

"What,"Sasuke quivered meeting blue eyes.

"Stay like this, I won't let you be hurt, I protect you."

Shaking, Sasuke felt hypnotized to stillness.

Naruto turned away and released one hand from around Sasuke just as the snake came rushing forward and its eyes white and slit fixed only on Sasuke like he was food. No, he was food.

Naruto caught it by the neck and held it there. His face drew close to it and they weren't of equal height but in that moment the snake seemed smaller. After a second, Naruto released him suddenly and grabbed the snake by the side, picked it up and jumped so the snake hit the roof and smash through. Instead of breaking, they went through like sinking into a mirror and left the roof as is.

Hs legs failed him and Sasuke fell on his ass, mouth opened staring after them. He was…he was dreaming right? That wasn't real, right, a person cannot be a snake and a snake cannot be a person.

"What happened?!"behind him Kiba rushed into the room and looked around, shocked to see the state of the room that has up till this point been left as the old man left it.

His yellow eyes spotted Sasuke on the floor and he marched forward, gritting his teeth hard. He grabbed Sasuke's collar. "You idiot human, what did you do?"

Sasuke was still shivering and unaware that he was being held up in the air. "Are you ignoring me?!"

When Kiba looked at Sasuke's expression he saw fear and shock. He smelled it too. He looked at where the human was looking at and found that the top was ruffling. His eyes snapped back to Sasuke. "Did you touch him?"

This question shook Sasuke to become aware of his surrounding and met the yellow glaring eyes with a vacant look on his face. "You touched him didn't you, you fool!"

He was thrown hard against the nearest wall and Kiba ran out of the room in haste.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sasuke admitted he was in shock that was why he hadn't thought of this. Those people, if they were really people at all, had seemed strange from the beginning. If he really looked at it like this, then they weren't people who were acquainted with his grandfather, after all the company had not mentioned them. So who are they, that question he never bothered to ask. They knew all about his grandfather so he thought that was enough to trust them, but now he was sure that they probably had done something to his grandfather.

Sasuke was glad that he could quietly slip out of the Aforum without being noticed. He needed to get out of Intos forest fast.

Because there was always light in the Aforum, Sasuke was a bit shocked to be greeted by complete darkness outside.

"Night, it's nighttime." He murmured to himself like a crazy person and didn't pull out his torchlight. He didn't want them to know he was gone until he was safely away from this vicinity.

The air was cold, the temperature decreasing very fast. Sasuke didn't have any of the things he had come with, those he had left with… in the Aforum. He took only the crystal ball, a LED, and the inver. It was all he could get his hands on in his haste.

The LED when turned on can serve as both heater and light so he decided not to worry and started walking out into the forest. It was hard to see but thankfully the moon was up in the sky,

Once he has gotten far enough and it didn't look like or sound like he was being pursued, Sasuke turned on the LED. The whitish blue light spread from the pyramid shaped globe. He held it up so he could see the forest properly, the wind was ruffling the trees and something was making the branches and twigs snap.

Swallowing his fear, Sasuke continued to walk fast. After walking for another thirty minutes, he looked up at the trees. If he was there then he would be able to see the droid that would tell him if he was going in the right direction and how close he was to the entrance of Intos forest.

But he really had no idea how far they took him from the entrance of the forest, and what direction. Even though this was really risky, going back was not an option. Whenever the thought occurred to him, Sasuke would think of the blue head large snake, Neji. He would think of how close he had been to death and his determination would revive. Getting out of here was his only option.

Soon, he spotted it. By that time he was now use to the eerie quiet and the shaking of leaves, the ruffling of the bushes that sounded like a person moving and the sound of his footstep no longer made him suspicious of being followed. The droid was sending out a dull red light from the tree and in the darkness it was very easy to spot.

Sasuke sighed, relieved to the point of tears. His leg ached from walking for so long. Trekking wasn't done in A.L.U, his thighs felt like they were ten times heavier than usual and his feet ached like they had been pinned down with a rock for days.

Breathing heavily, he leaned against a tree and took a rest. There was still another thirty minutes walk to the left before he would be able to see the outside of this place. Aching all over, it was difficult to think about walking even one more step.

But the sound of an unusual scramble on the ground sparked a new energy that made him capable of flying away from the tree. He had no weapon and if those chimpanzees appeared again it was over.

Looking around and throwing the Led about dangerously to drive off any animal, he kept his tired eyes alert and unblinking, wide enough to not miss anything. His heart pounded against his chest with a hard and skipping rhythm.

The night looked the same and the forest looked empty, but Sasuke knew better than to fall for it. Slowly he walked backwards, the LED held in front of him like a weapon. His shoes squished their path through wet soil and then something warm was breathing over him. Naruto?

He snapped around but it was not a young yellow haired boy behind him but a large mountain high furry animal with red eyes. It's pant brought out hot air that swept over Sasuke's face, his bangs blown away from his face and the sound was like the rush of strong wind.

Shaking, Sasuke started to yell and run. He didn't make it five steps then he was grabbed around the ankles like he was just a small twig picked from the ground, and this king kong animal snorted at him.

"NO! help! Somebody help me!" he yelled his head off without reservation. He was about to be eaten alive.

"HELP ME!"

The next thing he knew he was being thrown into a cage and some chimpanzees snapped at him through the wooden bars. He rushed backwards and away from them on his hands. Their eyes were glowing red and they were the same sort that had attacked him before.

Shivering and petrified, Sasuke pressed his back to the wall and kept himself as still as possible. Soon their chirping stopped and after one last snort, he was left alone in complete blackness. His LED had fallen off somewhere, he thought vaguely not particularly concerned.

His breathing didn't return to normal even twenty minutes later, his clothes was soaked with cold sweat. "What is…what is going to happen to me?"

"We are going to get eaten, what do you think?"

Startled, Sasuke's head whipped to where the voice had come from. Someone was seating at the left side of the cage and he couldn't see their faces.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Oh, that commanding way of talking, could you be…" the figure crept out, it was none other Sheri. "Mr. Uchiha!"

"S-sheri?"

It was by morning that Sasuke finally caught up with all that has happened and shared his own experience too. Sheri and Long guy, Ronan actually, had been taken by the chimpanzees and were held captive. Ronan was taken away and has since not returned. The conclusion was that they were food being kept in stock.

Sasuke tried not to fall asleep. It was insane that he actually felt this sleepy considering his situation but his eyes drooped and he caught himself snoring more times than he could count.

He was seated next to Sheri, being in contact with him was somehow able to keep Sasuke from having a panic attack. He shook off another doze and glanced around, it was almost dawn, the sky was a purplish blue. Sasuke kept his eyes fixed on the door hoping to be prepared when they come.

He dipped his hand into his pocket for anything that could help him and only found the inver and the crystal ball. Looking at the ball took him into one of the few memories he had of his grandfather. "With this, you can hear the thoughts of animals and understand them. Genius isn't?"

Thoughts of animals? As if they have thoughts. He balled the crystal in his hand, wanting to have it close. This may well be his last morning ever.

It was bright when they returned. There was no surprise as Sasuke could hear their chirping long before they showed up at the door. They climbed the door and made strange gestures at them.

Sasuke shrank away, he would put up a fight. He will not be taken easily.

The door was opened and they came in cautiously and then Sasuke sprang to his feet and rushed for the door, a stupid attempt at escape. He was tackled at the waist and thrown on the floor which scraped his elbow but he yelled and fought as much as he could.

All that earned him was a wound on his lip and forehead. By the time he was thrown on his knees, his hair was out of its pony tail and whipping around his shoulder, his shirt torn and he looked worn out. Still trying to make sure he doesn't get eaten alive, Sasuke refused to remain still.

Suddenly the huge chimpanzee jumped from somewhere and roared in his face, efficiently causing him to go silent, frozen stiff by fear.

"You, "it said loudly, "be quiet."

Sasuke didn't need to be told twice and could only stare wordlessly.

"Who are you?" it had taken a seat on what looked to be the steps to a building, its large black bulk covering the entire steps.

"What are you? To the Golden snake, the Ashteri."

"A-Ashteri," a youthful poker face appeared in his eyes.

"Answer me!" it roared. Sasuke shrank away and didn't say anything.

The chirping turned loud around him and it was similar to the jeering of a crowd at a thief. It erupted to disturbing heights that Sasuke had to shield his head against possible attack.

"Ashteri! You dare to show your face!"

"Babo, you have something that belongs to me, I have come to collect."

Sasuke's head perked up at that voice. He knew that weird way of talking that was even worse than a giant chimpanzee.

"Naruto?" he turned and caught the shirtless figure who was staring at the beast chimpanzee. He met Sasuke's eyes but only briefly.

"I don't see your mark." The Chimpanzee made a sound like tires screeching which turned out to be a laugh.

"He escaped before I could mark him," Naruto said. "But you know he has my scent."

He was suddenly eloquent but scent? What kind of a dream lasts this long. He had to be dreaming, Sasuke suspected that the moment after the giant chimpanzee talked. Animals cannot talk, they just cannot.

"Be that as it may, why should I give him back? You killed my people, I should kill your own."

Naruto's eyes turned cold then the blue turned slit. Sasuke had thought he was mistaken before but there was no mistake now.

"Will you defy me again, Babo."

"Ashteri," it spat, "I don't fear you, you who have become human is weak, weak!"

"Then I will make you kneel before me again, Babo."

In a split second there was a giant golden snake emerging from a smoke around Naruto and it launched itself around the giant Chimpanzee. Dust and bricks flew around in their great mighty crash that shook the ground.

Sasuke crept away, transfixed by the sight. Against the Chimpazee, the snake looked like a house and the chimpanzee a car. The two came to blows. The snake twisted around Babo and he roared and beat on the thick skin. The tail of the snake whipped away the smaller chimps running over to help. The head that was like a cobra spread and large mouth open over the face of Babo.

"Stop! Please!"

The snake did stop and then untwisted away. Sasuke got to his feet watching and did not take his eyes off it for one moment as it shrank and once again Naruto was there. He did not understand what was happening. Was Naruto the huge snake? What…

He swallowed and felt his vision spin then blur and was out before he hit the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

When Sasuke woke up, he was covered completely in fur.

"Ah!" he screamed and flew off the bed, blindly racing away from the animal and into cold naked chest.

"You are awake." His head whipped around and in his vision were blue eyes. He stared wordlessly.

The silence stretched and Naruto did not seem bothered by it. Sasuke found that he was leaning too much into him and pulled away but staggered, nearly falling backwards. Tanned arms wrapped around him and held him back to the cold chest.

Sasuke met his eyes again till it turned a little awkward. When was he going to let go?

"You should return to bed, you just got out of the MIT," Naruto said.

"MIT," he asked and trailed off when he was carried bridal style effortlessly back to the bed. This must be one of the cabin. It was small and the bed was narrow with white sheets and a fur blanket which must have been what Sasuke felt waking up.

He was placed almost, should he say, gently on the bed and when he looked at Naruto again, his eyes were warm. Sasuke saw the snake appearing from Naruto and swallowed. He hid the tremor of his hand under the blanket and looked away.

"Just rest. Your body is weak."

Sasuke realized he was burning only after the cold went away.

"I have some questions," he said, looking at the half turned back.

"Questions? Could it be about what you saw?"

"What I saw…"Sasuke wavered. He wanted to believe he was still dreaming but he hated ignorance and didn't care to be so anymore. There was a lot he did not know and finding out about this might explain his grandfather's disappearance if not lead to his whereabouts.

"What about Sheri?" he asked, deciding to leave it for now, till he was stronger.

"Sheri? Are you asking about the other humans that came with you?"

"Humans?"

"Babo captured the two of them, but has released them to me. Do you want to meet them?"

Sasuke nodded. Naruto nodded too and walked away.

Sasuke turned and lowered himself on the bed, his mind racing. It didn't seem that his knowing about them, those things, was prohibited but there might be a line and so he needed to be careful. Naruto had protected him but he might turn against Sasuke if he thought he needed to and he probably only saved Sasuke so he could save that girl. When he has outlived his usefulness, he might become a miserable loose end. He needed to tread lightly. Tread lightly Sasuke.

The next time he opened his eyes, he was still on the bed and the light though was still dim told him that it was night time. The same thing that was used in A.L.U. this really was an A.L.U facility. Being a world floating over the water and covered by a strong hard shell like an egg, the real sun could not penetrate so it was imitated by lights.

"yo!"

Cold rippled over Sasuke. He had thought he was alone but to his right… yellow eyes stared at him. He pressed his body to the wall.

"What's with that reaction?"

Kiba looked human, and when he tilted his head to the side and raised his brown bushy eyebrow, there was no denying it… except for that cat like ears on his head. Sasuke's eyes went up to it and stared.

"What are you looking at?" he followed Sasuke's gaze and then the realization came to him and he covered them with both hands. "Hey, don't look at them. That's so rude."

"You have animal ears, is it through surgery?"

Although Sasuke has seen people do surgery to get elfin ears and other unusual body parts, none of it looked this real.

"Surgery? What's that? Hey, I said stop looking." His blush looked real enough and he wasn't getting angry as usual but looked embarrassed.

"What are you? What are all of you? That chimp…" the horror of that monster still hasn't left him.

"Oh, you met Babo. Don't be scared of him, he is just a big thug."

"Thug?"

"He likes to mess around."

Sasuke did not know what he was talking about.

"Anyway, you have a lot of guts escaping," he said.

"I—"

He was grabbed around the front of his shirt and tugged close, too close. Uncomfortable, Sasuke struggled futilely. "If you were going to escape, why did you get caught? You can't even escape right and a person like you is supposed to help us?" he scoffed and let go of Sasuke's clothes.

Sasuke coughed as air passed the wrong passage. He heard Kiba walking away and grabbed him by his hand. "I don't want to be here either." He said and pleaded. "If you want me out then get me out."

Kiba stared coldly at him then he scoffed, his expression turning cruel, "are you scared that you won't survive living here?" he threw off Sasuke's hand and climbed the bed with him.

"If you are really scared, if you can't take it anymore, tell me." his face was drawing really close, too close. The yellow of his eyes and the black iris were strangely hypnotizing.

"When you've suffered enough I will eat you then."

"Why?" Sasuke didn't let fear freeze his mouth.

"Because you disgust me," he reached out fingers for Sasuke's face, "I hate humans like you."

"Kiba."

Sasuke felt Kiba freeze and turned his eyes to the door where Naruto, Sheri and Long guy stood. Sasuke could hear the crick in Kiba's neck as he turned to face Naruto.

"N-Naruto," he was strangely sweating. Sasuke had had about enough.

"Get off me you asshole!" he pushed the dog like bastard off and he smacked into the opposite wall. Sasuke hoped it hurt.

"Sir, sir, are you alright?"

Long Guy and Sheri hurried to his side. They threw shocked glances at Kiba. Sasuke could almost read their thoughts. They would be shocked that he treated a person like that and that the person looked like an animal, a dog with a nasty attitude. Something like this did not happen anywhere, except here, in this strange forest.

"I'm fine, what about to you guys," he looked them over. Sheri wasn't covered in dirt like he had seen in the cage and long guy, well Ronan looked very alive.

"We are doing very okay sir, " Ronan said," the chimps let us go because of young master Naruto."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto then returned to Ronan, "I thought you were dead." Eaten actually.

"They kept me in a pit, I think they were going to roast me," Ronan said pitifully, his eyebrows shaking from the traumatic memory.

"Babo will never eat humans, you must be mistaken."

Kiba scoffed and hopped off the bed. "Babo should have eaten the lot of you," he declared and started walking away but Naruto was still in the way. Sasuke watched them have a silent conversation and this made him recall the exchange between the giant chimpanzee and Naruto. That chimp—Babo had given in to Naruto even though he had looked scary enough to destroy the entire forest. The hierarchy of this place was starting to become clear as Kiba bowed and walked around Naruto.

Later that same day, Sasuke was taking a walk around the facility. He saw the box. It was a blue electrovaccum box and it was rather strange that is grandfather had chosen this to keep his work records. Something like this, without the inver, was impossible to open. All his work would be lost without that inver.

Sasuke dipped his hand into his pocket but there was none. He had forgotten that his clothes had been changed into a nondescript gown so he could be treated by the MIT. That doctorial machine was responsible for carrying out simple treatments like appendicitis surgery and the like and is able to diagnose nearly all kinds of diseases, though it was still far from perfect. It had treated Sasuke's dehydration, exhaustion and serious malnutrition, which was honestly better than the ones in A.L.U could do. His grandfather had to have touched it once or twice.

But where was the inver? He turned around and took in the large laboratory room, the equipments. This was not something his grandfather, despite the large sum of money he has accumulated over his life time, could afford alone. The company or someone with a lot of money must have his back. Then what happened? What went wrong? There should be other scientists but none was around and all around were these animal people. What happened in this place?

From the side, Naruto approached and stopped till Sasuke spotted him. Despite his best effort to keep his emotion in check, Sasuke jumped and his heart rate spiked.

"Naruto, why are you standing there?"

"Are you scared of me?"He asked.

"What?" no, I am terrified of you.

"You don't have to be, I, Naruto would never hurt you."

"And I am supposed to trust in that."

"Trust. Yes, trust in me. I will make sure you stay alive." His eyes left Sasuke and looked towards the left, where the floating girl was.

Sasuke frowned. He never wanted to know before but curiosity got to him. "Who is she to you?"

"She?"

"The girl in the tube."

"That is no she, that is Inku."

"InKu?"

Naruto looked around for something, found it and brought it to Sasuke. It was a picture of a really large snake in water.

"What…"

"Inku." He pointed.

Sasuke let the picture go shaking. "You are saying… that she is a snake too. Like you? Like Neji?"

"I can't explain it." Naruto said for the first time showing something like a frustrated expression.

"I had hoped you've already figured it out by now."

Sasuke froze at the voice coming from behind. He didn't want to see him. He had tried his best not to remember Neji's gruesome transformation, fearing he wouldn't be able to keep still otherwise.

"Neji," Naruto's arms were around him suddenly and his body became cold everywhere he touched. It shook off his fear, calming him down a bit. His head was looking over Naruto's shoulder as Naruto faced off with Neji.

"We wanted to apologize."

"He is scared of you, don't come close."

"Okay, we will stand over here."

Sasuke remained silent and did not move. Naruto's words of protection repeated over and over in his head.

"I don't…" he trailed off and pulled away from Naruto, meeting his eyes. The blue eyes searched his. "Let go, I am fine," he had to say.

The cold arms, which were probably so because of the fact that he was a coldblooded animal, let go slowly, almost reluctantly.

Sasuke turned around and saw Neji standing there his face was back to looking human and he was still wearing the white suit.

"What are you," he said.

"We are Inku," he said, "the same specie as Ino."

"Ino?"

"The one in the water"

Sasuke look towards where she was, though he could not see her due to the curve of the walls and the shelves and counters in the way.

"You—you can turn human even though you are animals?"

"We only look human, "said Neji.

"What?"

"Naruto, please show it to him"

Sasuke looked at the person by his side. Naruto looked hesitant but he turned his back to Sasuke and raised his hair. They were long enough to rub his neck and very golden yellow. His fingers parted the stands and Sasuke saw something like a disc that glowed different colors duly in his head.

"What is that?" he squinted.

"That is the Former."

"Former?"

"Your grandfather created it."

"What is it. "

"It makes us to look human like this."

"Wait," Sasuke covered his face and shook his head. "Why, would my grandfather make something like that? And how, is it impossible. You don't just look human you…" hesitantly he touched Naruto's arm, then confidently grabbed it.

"You feel human too. This is skin. Cold but still skin"

"Skin," Naruto repeated looking brightly between Sasuke and his own hand.

He turned Sasuke's hand around and touched his arm," this is skin. You are warm" the expression was so human, it looked kind and pleased.

"I-I have always be-been a little too warm… ah let go." He pulled away, disgruntled. They looked at each other with Sasuke holding his hand like he has been wounded.

"We all have it, all of us who are in this place."

Sasuke returned his attention to Neji. "I still don't get it, why did my grandfather create something like this."

"That's something your grandfather can explain himself, but we ourselves have our own reason."

He waited but Neji wasn't saying anything, his eyes were focused on Naruto instead. Was there something he shouldn't know?

"If you want my help…"Sasuke started, "you will have to tell me everything," he informed them.

Naruto and Neji looked at him together at the same time.

"You will finish the work?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke really didn't know how to even start with this madness but after what he has gone through there was nothing he would not believe. If his grandfather really created this and made this possible then it was something important to him as all his projects are. The problem of finding him can only be solved here and even though it was scary and Sasuke wanted to return to the safety of A.L.U. there was really nothing he could do for his grandfather there.

"I don't know that I can, "he started, "I need to go over my grandfather's notes to even understand the process and how this is possible. I have to analyze all the data, that could take a whole year all on its own and we don't know that we have that kind of time to help your friend. In any case, I think finding my grandfather is still the right thing to do."

"So you will be able to do it, even if it takes a year?"

Sasuke blinked. Had his words not reach them? Granted he was rambling but it was obvious he couldn't promise anything.

Naruto took his hand, "it's okay, it doesn't matter how long, Ino will not die."

"For us, time isn't anything to worry about."

Time isn't anything to worry about? Sasuke looked between the two confused by their utter faith in him. No actually in his grandfather's words. His grandfather, come to think of it, didn't have this much faith in Sasuke. Where was this coming from?

"I'm only going to help, finally, the only way to do that is to know everything."

Naruto nodded rapidly, "we will tell you anything you want to know."

Sasuke thought about it. They couldn't tell him why his father did this but at least they could tell him who started this, who was behind it.

"How did this all start and for how long has it been going on?" given the state of the experiment and the result, this should have been going on for quite a while.

"It all started with me," Naruto said and turned away to look at something that could not be seen.

"when the old man and his people started to enter our home, I wanted to protect it but I did not want to kill them. Killing them would bring more of them so I tried to scare them away. The old man could speak to me somehow and told me to stop fighting, that he would help me."

It was a little difficult for Sasuke to stay quiet after hearing that but he managed to not interrupt with questions.

"he said he would help me protect our home. And secretly, I would allow him to explain everything to me while keeping him safe from the other of our kinds. Finally, the old man started to do his work."

Naruto was actually quite naïve. Why did he trust Sasuke's grandfather? It is true that his grandfather was not a bad person but he could have been.

"When he made the first sample to show me what I would look like as a human, I wanted him to be successful."

"And he was…" Neji said, reminding Sasuke that he was still there. "For some of us, Naruto especially. He can attain full transformation and complete human turn, but some of us cannot and others could only get partial turn. Like Kiba, and myself."

But he looked the same as Naruto, Sasuke could not seen any animal parts. He could not see anything unusual

Neji raised his sleeve as if reading Sasuke's thoughts and as obvious as day scales stood out on his skin, the appearance brown gold and almost unreal except it was real.

"It is all over my body but my face."

"But why? Why did you decide to do this to yourselves? What are you trying to accomplish."

Naruto responded, "Co-existence."

Sasuke gaped at him.

"…co-existence," he muttered quietly to himself in the silence of his cabin, the same one he has been using since he was brought back to the Aforum.

He couldn't really understand that, how animals could think of coexisting with humans, how they could think at all. Weren't animals supposed to be lesser organisms than humans but they came up with that decision on their own and are doing everything to see it be.

But why, something just didn't add up. If they wanted coexistence that was good and fine but it made it seem like what they had before wasn't coexistence. Humans and animals both were killed during the flooding leading to the almost extinction of these animals, humans too. Now in A.L.U only a few animals for food are being bred, propagated and kept very well so that there is never a shortage of it. A.L.U is a world separated from land and all its occupant lived within it without any thought of coming out because of the poison water that has flooded the earth. There shouldn't be anything standing in the way of these remaining animals from living peacefully in Intos forest, no one would take it away from them. But yet they felt threatened, why? What was the threat?

Sasuke heard movement outside the door but no one was knocking or coming in.

"Who is there?" he asked.

"… It is me, sir." Sheri.

"Come in," Sasuke called out, adjusting into a comfortable seating position

Sheri was wearing something that looked like a woman's nightgown with white lace hem and neckline. In the dim light and with his plumb short body, he looked like a baker's wife.

Sasuke kept that to himself as he watched the man cautiously yet familiarly approached. Having experienced near death together, Sasuke could not deny that he was comfortable around the man.

"What is it, Sheri?" he asked.

Sheri sat down at the foot of his bed and smiled warmly. "I'm glad to see you looking very well, sir."

"Just call my name," Sasuke interjected.

"It is really a big relief, Sasuke."

"yes." They have already spoken of their relief to still be alive together so what was this about. Sasuke didn't ask but waited for Sheri to speak.

"I was wondering, since you are looking better if we could return home now." He lifted his face and looked at the ceiling. "This place is good, it has water and light facilities, but it is not home, your grandfather is not here. I don't think we need to be here anymore."

Sasuke nodded, agreeing to every word, "you are right, Sheri. I was going to call you and Ronan to inform you. We have to return to A.L.U and get more information."

"More information?"

"I need to know how much of what is going here in this place the company is aware of, I need to be sure they do not have a hand in my grandfather's disappearance."

"I see. So when are we leaving."

"For now, you and Ronan can leave without me, I will stay behind to gather more information then I will join you guys later."

"hmm, I don't think I want to leave you alone here, Sir. Besides, the company paid us to bring you back safely."

"I am safe—" Sasuke broke off as he recalled the fact that he was practically living in the den of wild animals. "I am as safe as I can be right now, don't worry. You don't have to tell them anything, just keep everything you've learned here to yourself okay?"

"I don't understand what is happening here and I don't understand why you want to stay behind."

"Just trust me." Sasuke nodded, '"I will be fine."

When the morning came, Sasuke escorted Ronan and Sheri to the entrance of the forest with the assistance of Naruto.

"We will come back with aid," Ronan said.

Sasuke sighed," Ronan, I told you, you can't tell anyone about this."

"Oh right." He scratched his mop like hair with a sheepish smile. "Just be sure to come back safely."

"Okay."

He watched them approach the rider, the walls rise and close them in and then the tiny ball shape circled and flew off towards A.L.U

"Are you sad," said the only other person with him.

"Why would I be and how would you know if I am sad."

"From your face. "

Sasuke met his eyes, they no longer unnerved him. Okay they no longer unnerved him as much. "I didn't know them for that long, I am not attached to them so seeing them leave doesn't make me even a little sad."

"But you are sad about something."

Sasuke turned away without another word.

"What are you sad about," he was being followed closely.

"I am not sad about anything. How would you know that I am sad, you are just an animal. Just because you look human doesn't mean you know every human emotion." He paused not sure if that was true.

"We animals can smell emotion, we are not that different from humans."

Sasuke met his eyes again and made sure his sneer was as obvious as possible, "then can you tell why I have this face?"

Naruto's eyes went over his face with some hint of fascination. "What expression is this?" he asked.

Sasuke snorted to himself with a silly sense of superiority. "This is my you are a dobe expression,"he said.

"Dobe," his head could have been hanging low for all the curiosity in his tone. He certainly wasn't taking any offense.

"It means a stupid person. You are stupid for thinking that animals and humans are the same. If you thought you could blend in with humans with that attitude you've got another think coming."

Sasuke did not expect the drooping of Naruto's face at his statement. The snake man turned gloomy with his mouth poked out. "Then what can I do to be more human."

"Why is it so important for you to be human," Sasuke still did not understand their reason.

"We have to be human so that no one can tell the difference,"

"Why?"

"So we can live."

Sasuke frowned." Is there anyone trying to kill you, Naruto?"

He nodded. It was just as Sasuke had suspected. They were almost at the Aforum but Sasuke stopped. "Who is trying to kill you?"

"…humans."

Humans did not come to Intos forest, none Sasuke had heard about.

"What is that expression?"

Sasuke blinked the youthful face into focus and found him close. He took a step back and nearly tripped. He caught himself with Naruto's shoulder and froze. Touching him should be okay, right?

He looked up and blue eyes was simply watching him.

"You completed total transformation, you are the only success."

"yes." Naruto answered.

"You are probably my best case of study," he said and let go of the strong yet cold shoulder.

"I will help you work on imitating human expression, but I need something."

"What?"

"The inver, I think I lost it."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Naruto and Neji said they would return to Babo's hideout to find the inver, Sasuke was to stay behind and Sasuke would have liked that too but Kiba and his friends who didn't seem to think he was worth anything were looking rather antsy.

"I will go with you," he told them.

Naruto looked over his body the same way he would look at a tree. "You are not strong, stay behind."

"I'm fine," Sasuke argued with a displeased frown. "Besides I have better idea of where the inver could have gone missing than the two of you."

"We have good senses, we can find the inver." Even Neji was against his going, which was odd.

"I don't want to stay behind," Sasuke said simply in the face of their argument.

"Are you worried you might be in danger?"

Naruto looked at Neji as if startled then to Sasuke he said, "You have nothing to fear, no one will hurt you as long as they smell my scent on you."

"Your what?" Naruto had a tendency to behave primitively and say these absurd things. Perhaps Sasuke was wrong about him being a success. "Hey, Dobe, I don't need your whatever on me. Even with that, can you say one hundred percent that I am safe?"

"Well, Kiba can keep you safe."

"Kiba," Sasuke scoffed.

"what's with that response," he, like the devil, appeared and jumped down from the upper part of the laboratory, perched like a cat and eyed Sasuke with his yellow eyes. "Are you underestimating me or something?"

Sasuke looked at him irritably," whether I am underestimating you or not is not the point." _Among the others you are the one who is most likely to harm me_.

He kept that to himself and just glared at Kiba, he didn't want the animal, whatever type he was, to think he was afraid, he knew they could smell fear.

"Just go on ahead Naruto, Neji. I've got it. But remember that the full moon is today so be back before nighttime."

The full moon? Naruto was nodding and turning away without another word. Sasuke hurried after him, ignoring Kiba's shout to stop.

"Hey wait a minute, I haven't agree…d" his eyes went wide because Naruto had turned around suddenly and with Sasuke's momentum he would inevitably crash into him. He was caught around the waist and held to his cold chest in a daze.

"Don't worry Sasuke," he felt a hand on the top of his head and looked at Naruto to see a warm smile. "I won't let anything happen to you. I will protect you."

Sasuke had no idea why a snake had such a nice and warm expression and why he was practically glowing with affection. Is that something that the disc, the Former, is manufacturing? It shouldn't be possible.

Speechlessly, he let himself be separated from Naruto and watched his back as he disappeared into the lift.

"Now that they are gone, there are some rules you have to listen to carefully."

Sasuke was brought back to himself by the sound of that annoying voice. He turned around and glared.

"You better get a biro and a book, this is rather important,"Kiba grinned.

Grinding his teeth, Sasuke responded superiorly, "say whatever you want to say, I am a genius remember, even my grandfather has faith in me, I can remember every single thing I hear. Of course I will have to weed out some of the stupid ones—which is half of what you say—but whatever."

"trying to provoke me huh," Kiba folded his arms across his chest. "Okay, then take this in. provoking Kiba is a must not do number one priority because that is likely to lead to your immediate injury, or worse."

"Threatening me, typical. I guess you must like how you are an animal and how you are stronger than me."

"I'm not just stronger, I'm faster."

"With that speed of yours make sure to use it to stay as far away from me as possible," Sasuke said and ignored the irate animal to leave the lab.

"humph, like I would want to be anywhere around you, you filthy human!" the yell was rather immature and Sasuke smiled secretly, pleased to irritate him. Soon he would need to know what kind of animal Kiba was; seeing as how he was always aggressive and had cat like ears, could he be a wild cat? An image of Kiba in cat form, cute with a little fang at the corner of his mouth provoked a chuckle from Sasuke.

In a bit he arrived at his grandfather's office. It had been arranged and all the papers neatly piled on one side of the long table. It no longer felt like his grandfather's office, didn't carry his presence like the first time. If only he had known not to touch Neji.

Sighing, he took a seat and pulled up his glasses, retrieved safely from his backpack, and wore it. Carefully, he started to go through the papers, one by one, careful to site even a single handwriting change.

There were several. He filed them to one corner and re-filed them according to categories. From the looks of it, these papers didn't have anything to do with Naruto and the Former. This was a project on energies. Sasuke couldn't connect the relationship between the forest and what was being researched. Energy transformation?

If A.L.U. was running out of energy then this would be top priority and should take utmost focus, but no, his grandfather had been working on turning animals into humans.

He had certainly not been alone in the Aforum, some other scientist had been with him.

Tired from his work, Sasuke rubbed the bridge of his nose and got up to get himself another cup of coffee. He noticed that it was really quiet. How big is the Aforum that all the other animals could live inside and be almost invisible. Sasuke hasn't even had a single run-in with them since he came back.

He took his cup of coffee and started to take a walk just to ease the ache in his body. He wasn't aware of time passage and was simply and leisurely taking a look around.

When he turned a corner and saw that it was leading to the place he had been kept prisoner his first time here, he turned and decided not to go there, but he heard a cry. A sharp cry was coming from in there. As far as he knew there should be no one there.

If this was a place where only humans live then Sasuke would be worried, but seeing as this was the situation—he was the only living human here—then it was best not to tempt the heavens.

He took his cup and turned away from it. The shout was rather persistent however and then it continued to gnaw on his mind.

With a sigh, Sasuke turned back again. He would just take a quick peak, that's all. It was not always a good thing to be so curious, experience has taught him that but apparently he needed a reminder of that lesson.

As he got to the door, it swung open as he knew it would but Sasuke disappeared from the front and peered from behind the nearest wall. The door only stayed open for ten seconds but that was enough for him to see the empty hall way.

There didn't seem to be anyone there but it was true that the noise was still coming from there. Pursing his lips a little, Sasuke walked forward and gave the door a thoughtful look. It was rather slow to open, if he needed to get out fast this door would certainly disappoint him.

Sasuke decided about his next action. A few seconds later he was walking through the hallway of the subject holding area. That sounded like a better term – behind him the mug of coffee was keeping the door from fully closing.

He counted five holding cells and three with their doors open. The last time he was here the doors were all open. When did they close them again and why?

Walking towards one of the closed door by his right, Sasuke felt cold sweat rolled down his back. Something told him he didn't want to see what was there. Still he approached the small space in the door and looked in.

At first, it looked empty, Sasuke nearly sighed, but then something pop up on the wall. It looked like a black mass then Sasuke saw great many yellow eyes turned towards him. He flinched away, blinking at the door.

"What…the hell… was that"

He had no idea how many animals were in this place, Neji or was it Kiba mentioned snakes and wolves and Sasuke had seen one spider but it had a human face. This one was a giant spider with many yellow eyes!

Spooked out till goosebumps were all over his skin, Sasuke took a step towards the safety of the door but then he heard someone coming. Not someone, many people. In a panic he looked for where to hide away.

There was really nowhere but inside one of those cells. That was the last place he wanted to be. Why didn't he just stay obediently away from all this? He should be trying to figure out where his grandfather was not exploring unknown research facilities, not nosing into someone else's business and not trying to get himself killed in the meantime.

Successfully, he hid in one of the opened cell and shut the door just in time for those people to enter into the hallway. Hopefully they would leave this room alone.

"Hey Lee, don't let me kick your ass, keep it in. don't go all out on me." that was Kiba's voice. Sasuke listened closely. He could hear harsh grating sound that resembled growling.

"Hey!" the next thing that followed was the roar of something, possibly a lion or a wolf, Sasuke had no idea but he was shaking to his bones in fright, his heart pounding dangerously.

"What are you doing Nino! Hold him for me, damn it!" Kiba sounded winded, whatever he was doing was taking a lot of effort.

"The door Nino, get it." Growling continued and got so loud and so close.

Sasuke shifted away from the door wide eyed and swallowing through dry throat with difficulty. He couldn't make a peep.

But it wasn't his door that was being opened, it was the door opposite his, at least it sounded that way.

"Nino, you are all I've got, don't go out on me, "Kiba was still the only one talking.

"I can't…" then a monster like voice, a voice that sounded altered to seem like it was coming from two people moaned. "You have to lock us in, now Kiba!"

"Damn it!" Kiba yelled and Sasuke heard his feet running heavily away.

Wait, when she said lock us in, she didn't mean the main door did she? No! Sasuke's heart began to go crazy and his shaking turned worse.

This place, he was starting to understand what it was, it had to be a holding cell not for experimental subject but to keep out of control animals, animals likely to harm others, and he was in the cell with them.

This realization did not seem to help Sasuke's near hyperventilation.

"I need to get out, I need to…" his head started to swim as all the oxygen seemed to be leaving the room at once.

Soon he heard his name, vaguely, like it was coming from a distance. Shaking, he reached for the door, swallowed and pulled it open bit by bit, the door opposite his was closed, and he sighed in deep relief, nearly falling.

Aside from the growling there was nothing standing between him and the door which was showing a red light. He walked fast, nearly running to it but when he got there it didn't open. It was locked after all.

He hesitated to beat the door but there was no other way. He beat it with all his might and only barely kept from yelling.

Kiba comes running and the look of horror on his face when he saw Sasuke there was really scary.  
"Why are you…"

"Just get me out!"Sasuke cried out unable to keep it in anymore.

The door behind him banged open a second after and Sasuke whipped around. A wolf was there, a really big wolf. Why did all the animals in this place seem to have such abnormal sizes? The blue eyed wolf with brown fur looked at Sasuke with his tongue hanging open and hot air coming out of its nose.

It began to run. Sasuke felt like he was suspended in the moment and the wolf was not. He couldn't even think of what to do next or where to run. He just stood paused in time, staring agape.

It came fast and Sasuke only managed to close his eyes. The bite did not come, what came was a body, warm, really warm arms and body surrounded him and pulled him into safety.

Blinking a bit, Sasuke experienced something like a déjà vu. This moment was something he had experienced before?

When he opened his eyes, Kiba was in front of him. He had Sasuke pressed to his chest that seemed even larger now and he was looking at something behind Sasuke with a fierce expression, one of his arms was around Sasuke, the other stretched out.

Sasuke turned his head to see what was behind him but Kiba said, "Don't even think about it, you trouble maker."

Then he shouted, "Get a hold of yourself Nino!"

He threw Sasuke away after that and he landed outside, his hand scrapping the floor. Glad to be alive and very grateful, yet hurting Sasuke turned to Kiba.

Kiba stood between the door and two large wolves. One of his arms was furry and large enough to fill the whole door. That was his animal hand Sasuke understood and compared to those wolves; he had to be even larger.

Something went passed his mind too fast for him to pick on it.

The two wolves were punched by Kiba, their yelp sounding like they were in real pain, and then they were thrown off his arm and he was able to shut the door on them again.

He was bleeding. Kiba's furry large hand, the fur a pure white color mixed with hazel, had blood dripping down slowly.

Sasuke began to rise to his feet quietly, but then Kiba's eyes turned to him and he froze half way up, his back still pressed to the wall. Kiba turned fully and started walking to him single-mindedly and Sasuke tried his best to try and escape through the wall but it was no use, he was corporeal and couldn't phase through the wall.

Kiba reached him in four large strides and took his shoulders in both hands, the furry large hand having returned to looking human. Sasuke flinched and turned his face away, eyes tightly shut waiting for retribution. He knew his curiosity was going to get him killed someday but no one ever told him he would die from being beaten to death by a wild animal.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" the hands on his shoulders were not squeezing or hurting but holding him up and turning him from side to side.

Sasuke opened his eyes and gaped at Kiba whose eyes were too busy running over his body in search of injuries that he didn't notice the shock in Sasuke's face. Why did this angry dog guy suddenly start showing him concern?

"I'm fine," he muttered, voice barely audible.

Kiba sniffed and one of his hands slid down and cupped Sasuke's palm up. There was a small scrape on his hand from the fall and his elbow was smarting a little too.

"What the hell do you mean you are fine, look at this. Does this look fine to you?"

Why was he suddenly shouting? Sasuke frowned and threw his hand off. "I am fine," he pushed forward so Kiba would let him go.

"No, that injury," his hand was grabbed again. "Come here."

Before he could put one word in, he was being dragged along. It turned out that the place he was being dragged to was just his grandfather's office.

"There is some human treating box over there," his eyes landed on Sasuke who felt like a kid who got hurt playing dangerously with his friends. "Get that treated."

"What, I already said…"

Smack. He was knocked on his forehead with an open palm and staggered backwards.

"Stay in here quietly, foolish human."

Though insulted Sasuke didn't feel like getting angry, after all that tone of voice was rather…

The door was shut on his face and then he heard the sound of footsteps running away. "Just what in the world, "

He knew Kiba had saved him but not why he was behaving so strangely. Perhaps he was simply worried about the disappointment Neji and Naruto would feel if they found Sasuke dead. He knew that those two saw Sasuke as someone too important to lose and even though he thought differently he didn't want to anger them? Maybe it is something like that?

Caught up in trying to figure out Kiba's strange behavior, Sasuke lost track of time and once he treated his hand and elbow he fell asleep on the couch in the room. The next thing he felt was a hand rubbing his head. At first he had thought it was Naruto, only that snake would invade his personal space and assume he could just touch Sasuke anyhow and anytime he wants. But there was a feeling of warmth that was usually absent with Naruto.

Too tired to wake up Sasuke only opened his eyes briefly and spotted a tan face and blurry yellow color before falling back into deep sleep.

The next time he woke up there was indeed someone right next to him that was none other than Naruto himself staring at him crouched next to his couch. Sasuke sat up slowly despite the slight surprise.

"Naruto," he said," if you want to be like human…"

"Yes?"

"That's the first bad habit you have to get rid of."

"But, you look so happy when you sleep. Do you dream?"

Sasuke thought about his sleep and couldn't recall whether he dreamt or not. "Humans don't always dream when they sleep. Do you dream?"

"Ashteri doesn't normally sleep, we rest but it isn't the same."

"Ashteri, isn't that your real name?"

"Yes."

Sasuke got up quickly and reached for his P7. He had retrieved the communication device when they had gone to escort Ronan and Sheri out of the forest. He searched the internet for the word Ashteri and very little information on the snake animal came out. It left Sasuke frowning.

"Is this you?" that sounded so familiar it made his mouth twitch. He held the P7 to Naruto the same way the snake had once held a picture to him.

Naruto looked at the holographic projection of the Ashteri snake. It was just about thirty cm long. Nothing compared to the large snake that he has seen Naruto turn into. Naruto looked at it with some confusion.

"Is that Ashteri?"

Sasuke glanced at the picture and nodded, "this is the information available about the Ashteri, and I'm guessing it is not accurate."

"It is not completely wrong," Neji has appeared but kept his distance by the door. "Good morning to you, Sasuke-kun."

"Good morning," Sasuke replied quietly. They looked at each other as though not quite sure of what to think, then Neji continued.

"Ashteri once used to look like that, but as the time flew by, they changed. "

"You mean they evolved?" Sasuke looked at the picture again. But that kind of evolution should not only be impossible but should at the very least take a lot of time, a thousand years or so. This image couldn't possibly be a thousand years old however.

"No, not evolved, remade."

"Huh?" Sasuke has never made such a stupid expression in his life but he suddenly felt stupid.

"You could say that Ashteri was like a god, worshipped and reverend, but they were being haunted for their ability, they had to undergo a remake in other for them to continue being in existence."

Sasuke looked skeptically at Neji," what you are saying is just fictional isn't it. You don't really know what happened to the Ashteri do you?"

Neji did not respond so Sasuke turned to Naruto, "what about you, how long have you always been this big."

"always." Came the one word reply.

Sasuke sighed heavily and wondered why he was pursuing such a useless topic; what did it matter that Naruto was an Ashteri that was either not recorded or was purposely erased.

He looked around the room, "anyway, I managed to sort out some information. Do you guys know anything about the ATK energy resource research program that was being carried out in this place?"

The two animals looked at one another and there was a silent communication, Sasuke had to cut in, "you know the only way I can help is if I know everything remember? Don't try to keep anything from me."

"We are not," Naruto said, "we know of it, but don't ask us to tell you what happened."

"Why, did you guys do something to the research team that was here?" Sasuke's heart skipped as he thought his guess might be correct and these animals were really not to be trusted. He took a huge risk staying back to gather information and now it might prove life threatening.

"Why are you so quick to think of us as the enemy," now another person has joined making it a complete set of strange. Yellow eyes as usual were glaring but Sasuke didn't glare back. "Your people came here and started doing research on us. They didn't care what happened to us so long as we could answer all their questions and solve all their problems. They locked us up and held us in chains."

Sasuke swallowed. That had been his second guess. "W-why would they…"

"Because we were strange, we are animals who should have gone into extinction, a Candor," he pointed at himself, "an Ashteri, and an Inku. The others were really just side pieces."

"So... You are saying you three were the main subjects. Then did you break out, did you… kill them?"

There was silence. "What do you think?" With that he was gone again.

Now Sasuke had some understanding about why Kiba hated him from the get go. "Was my grandfather one of them? Is he dead?"

"No," the sincerity was hard to believe.

"Then where is he?"

"Your grandfather helped us," Neji said.

"After you killed the other scientist? You expect me to believe that?"

"You have to understand, your grandfather brought us a way out. We thought in other to survive we had to kill every one of you, but he brought us a way out. "

"Those scientist…" Naruto finally opened his mouth, "I never meant to kill them. Our natural instinct drove us to protect ourselves. We just wanted to be left alone."

"So that's what you meant by coexistence."

"If we could blend in, if we didn't stand out because of our sizes, then we wouldn't be hunted."

"And my grandfather helped you with this plan?"

"Your grandfather saved us."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Sasuke had too much on his mind to focus on anything. The story was like this. A.L.U sent scientist to investigate the existence of the animals in the Intos forest and when they went they discovered these giant animals that have been living for years. Eager to know why and possibly with a vision to prolong life on A.L.U, they captured these animals and started to experiment on them.

These animals were wise from the start, possibly even wiser than the humans and they could understand the situation. That made sense. But because they were no longer just animals, when they escaped they plotted revenge and killed all the scientist, and then they went on to put themselves down for more experiments that helped them become human or look like human. And this was all done by his grandfather?

Something wasn't making sense at all.

The inver had finally opened the box and Sasuke retrieved all the recordings stored in a drive which, as he had suspected, dated back to even before he was born. He took all the videos out and loaded the file into the computer that was seriously ancient. His grandfather sure liked his old things. Still it did the job and while that was happening, Sasuke took his time to ask the questions.

Why did his grandfather take the sides of the animals? Even though Sasuke certainly did not support the humans, his kind, because they had tried to control something that was obviously out of their control, he couldn't have thought to go against them, especially after what would have been a massacre of scientist in this place.

So what was he missing? Why did his grandfather grow sympathetic to the pliant of these animals? What was he missing?

"What are you thinking about?" in front of him a cup of coffee appeared.

Sasuke took his hand from under his chin and looked behind him. Naruto stood there, his poker face and blue eyes looking at Sasuke.

"How did you know I wanted a cup of coffee?" he asked as his fingers closed around the mug.

"The old man always wants one of these things, I don't know why. He always told me to keep bringing it."

Sasuke nearly snorted a laugh. "You don't know what coffee does do you. My grandfather is practically addicted to this stuff."

"Why? What does it do?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to explain then became a little mischievous. "Have you ever tried drinking it for yourself?"

"No."

"Have you ever tried any human food?"

"No."

Sasuke held the cup to him. "Then give it a try."

Naruto didn't immediately accept the mug as Sasuke thought he would. He usually listened to Sasuke about anything human related but he was hesitating.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Then he thought about it. He is a snake and snakes are poisonous, he is scared if he opened his mouth Sasuke would see a bunch of poisonous fangs and die from shock or maybe he is scared to transfer the poison to the mug? His imagination going wild, he never knew when the mug was taken from his hand and taken to Naruto's pale pink lips.

Sasuke blinked a few times, and then he stared without blinking while beads of sweat rose on his forehead. Naruto's mouth that opened however did not have any fangs that Sasuke could see. In fact, did he even open his mouth at all?

Disappointed, Sasuke nearly missed the slight grimace on his face. He laughed," You don't like it?"

"I don't… know."

"What's wrong is your taste bud dead?"

"It tastes strange."

"Strange?" Sasuke took the cup back and took a sip to see what was wrong. His grandfather usually drank this black, the coffee beans roasted till nearly burnt and therefore it was usually exquisitely bitter. The taste was not…bad. Was there milk in this?

He glanced into the black liquid in confusion.

"Did you like it?" the person in front of him asked.

Sasuke raised his eyes and blinked. "Did you make this?"

A nod.

"Wow, you are pretty handy. It doesn't taste bad. And this is what my grandfather drinks every day?"

"Yes."

I guess that's one more thing I didn't know, Sasuke smiled wryly. Then swiftly his hand went to his mouth, "wait, we just shared a cup. Did I just drink poison?!"

"Poison?" he was grabbed from the front of his shirt to his feet and his mouth was pulled close.

"eh! What are you doing?!" frightened within an inch of his life Sasuke nearly screamed at the top of his lungs. Their faces were so close that they might as well be breathing the same air, in and out.

"trying to see if you did."

Sasuke smacked him on the head.

"ow," the none affected response made him want to kick too but he stopped himself. Since when did he allow violence let alone do it himself. He pocketed that thought in a corner of his mind and faced the snake.

"Listen here, Dobe, if you really want to be more human then you have to learn about things like personal space. I have noticed this for some time but you seriously have no sense of personal boundary. Jeez. You even carried me around like a girl."

"What's personal space? And what is the difference between you and a girl?"

"huh?!"

"Hey dobe, just how far does your ignorance go? Are you just playing with me?"

He had the gall to laugh. It was…actually a strangely pleasing sight. His small mouth opened a little and a small hehe came out.

"I know in human term a girl is the weaker sex, in that way, between me and you aren't you the weaker sex?"

"What?" Sasuke made to smack him again but he dodged. "Hey, come here and say that to me again. Who is the weaker sex?"

Chasing him around proved useless and only caused Sasuke to nearly send a jar of something falling. All of a sudden it wasn't falling or even there.

"We see you two are getting along marvelously but can you try not to destroy the laboratory?"

It was Neji. He had somehow caught the jar and returned to keeping at least ten paces away from Sasuke.

"Neji." Sasuke chuckled a little and returned to check how much time was left till the video was ready. Still at least an hour.

"Sasuke-kun, Kiba told us what happened."

Sasuke took a moment to look up at him. "Yeah," he said. Not sure what to say. An apology seemed a little too much seeing as he nearly paid for his curiosity with his life.

"I suppose we should have warned you," he said.

"Yeah a warning would have been nice."

Sasuke looked behind him at Naruto who has returned to standing close. "Does that also happen to the two of you?" he asked.

"No, not as strongly. I am glad that Kiba was able to keep you safe."

On that note, what was the problem with that dog like bastard? Ever since last night he has been behaving strangely. Sasuke tried not think about the frightened look he had seen in Kiba's eyes when he realized that Sasuke was trapped inside that room. He tried also not see more than there was in the concern that over flowed from the jerk when he had saved him.

No in fact, what he couldn't help wondering was if he was correct about who was in the room that night with him caressing his hair. A sudden blush stole over his face as he pictured Naruto doing it. It would be just the type of thing he would do. A quick glance at the snake brightened his blush some more.

"Hey, when did you two come back?" the question was directed at the two but his eyes was on Naruto so he answered.

"Early this morning."

"Did you…come to see me?"

Something flashed past Naruto's face and Sasuke perked up. He was the one.

"No, I did not. I knew you would be sleeping so I left you to."

But he was there when I woke up, Sasuke thought. Was it not him? So far Sasuke has never caught Naruto or any of the others in a lie. Perhaps they didn't know how to lie. So it could have been Kiba. That guy who always took every turn at threatening Sasuke?

"Is something bothering you?"asked Neji.

"Nothing important. I'm just going to get something to eat in the meantime." He turned around and Naruto followed him as he approached the kitchen.

The kitchen was as to be expected for an A.L.U creation: a complete mechanized room with cooking robots, large freezers and equally long counter. Sasuke smiled at it as he stepped inside then his smile faded at the sight of Kiba eating .

The dog bastard paused with a big bite of bread in his mouth and his yellow eyes on Sasuke. They both looked at each other in silence.

"Hey don't eat all the bread." Sasuke said.

Kiba looked at his large tray of bread and glared at Sasuke. "It's mine.

"Exactly like a dog" Sasuke muttered.

"Hey! Who are you calling a dog, you foolish human!"

"He who the name fits."

He saw Kiba's mouth twitch, "I see you are hungry to die."  
Naruto was about to say something but Sasuke stopped him with a hand to his chest.

"Seeing as you couldn't let me die last night, I guess you like me more than I thought."

"L-Like y-you, are you an idiot? Idiot. I can't like a foolish, brazen, double eyelid jerk like you. Ugly."

Sasuke's fist balled. Kiba sounded like a five year old throwing cusses he didn't know the meaning off at an adult but as usual it still managed to piss Sasuke off.

"Who are you calling ugly, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?!"

"I'm not ugly, I'm macho."

Sasuke burst out laughing sarcastically and slightly sincerely," Macho my ass, you are just a dog like jerk."

"Candor," Naruto interrupted, he was smiling a little, "is more like an ancestor to the wolves than the dog but I guess there are some similarities."

"Naruto! Don't just some around with something like that? Nobody asked you to tell him that stuff, damn it."

Sasuke laughed again and elbowed Naruto playfully, "way to go. Thanks for taking my side."

Naruto was smiling when he said, "I wasn't really taking sides though."

"Anyway," Sasuke decided to put aside the argument, "thank you."

There was a moment of silence with him looking at Kiba and the other just staring at him.

"Are you talking to me," he placed a hand on his chest with such a bewildered expression that Sasuke had to laugh.  
"Yes. You've done nothing but scare and threaten me since I got here, but there is no denying that you saved my life yesterday. Thank you."

"I didn't actually save your life you know," Kiba started looking quite pompous that regret started to grow in Sasuke. The dog bastard wiped his nose and left a stain of mayonnaise there, "I was just trying to avoid getting yelled at so don't think that I am concerned about you. I still hate the sight of you."

"And you think I like the sight of you, you with your poor eating manners?"

"What?!"

"Look at your nose!"

He swiped at it but didn't get it off at all. "Where is it?"

"Right there!" Sasuke pointed at it, it was just near the bridge of his nose.

All he got was an annoyed glare. "Are you trying to trick me, you idiot human."

"argh, so annoying." Sasuke grabbed a tissue, reached over and wiped the stupid thing off. "There."

For some reason the dog bastard went very still and stared at Sasuke like he was shocked, his yellow eyes wide.

Sasuke realized that it was probably strange doing this for an animal, or was it that he touched him. But wait a minute, touching should be okay right? Besides it was only with a tissue paper.

"h-how long are you going to be this close to me?"

Sasuke had to lean over the counter to get to Kiba but that had brought them pretty close. "What?" he said and took in their situation but still remained confused.

He was in a moment being dragged back by Naruto with the back of his shirt. When he turned Naruto was really close to him and the snake did not complain. When he turned to give Kiba a puzzled glance, he found him gone and the door of the kitchen swinging shut.

"What the hell."

As he prepared breakfast even though it was noon, he asked, "Is Kiba allergic to people getting closed to him. I mean he touched me without problem all these while so I don't think he is like Neji. Or do I stink." He quickly took a whiff of himself and nodded. "I do, but it's not that bad. Why is he overreacting, that dog jerk."

"You do not smell, "Naruto finally responded, "Your scent is really nice."

Sasuke smiled, "that's good, with that kind of ass kissing attitude you will definitely survive in the human world, dobe"

"Really? Does that mean I seem more human now." With that plastic smile? Don't even think about it, Sasuke chuckled.

"It's not like you actually plan to enter A.L.U" his eyes flew up immediately the words came out of his mouth. "Do you?"

"You mean the human world?"

Sasuke nodded. "No, we don't want to go there."

Sasuke sighed. It was a relief to hear that, he wondered if A.L.U would even fit three mega sized animals.

After breakfast, Naruto had disappeared without a word from his side and Sasuke decided to return and check the progress of the computer. He had to wake it up as it had gone to sleep during the time he was gone.

Successful.

Sasuke smiled at the words written on the screen then he took a seat. "Okay, let's see. Where should I start?"

The dates were a bit messed up; some didn't even have dates but words. Sasuke flew over one of those words and found his hands pausing over it.

Son.

His grandfather only had one son, Sasuke's father, Uchiha Fugaku. All of a sudden Sasuke couldn't seem to move. If this was a video about his father then for the first time he would see his father moving. All he had of his parents were their photos. When he was four, the A.L.U search and rescue team picked him up from land, and his parents where nowhere to be found.

The statement given was that the couple had come to land on some kind of trip, got stranded and killed by wild animals, no one knew what happened to them, but only their four year old son survived.

Naturally Sasuke had no memory. His memory began with seeing his grandfather, all this was what he read and what was told to him.

His hesitation only lasted a few minutes, he didn't know how he would feel to see his father. He didn't have any emotional attachment to his parents seeing as his grandfather never had time for him or loved him when he was growing up. To Sasuke who has never experienced parental love, he had no reason to miss it. Still, he wondered what he should feel.

He clicked the button without coming to a conclusion. Only by seeing this will he know.

The video started to play after a short scramble. The one in front of the camera was not his father as he had thought, it was his mother. Sasuke swallowed and took a deep breath.

"No. no don't pull that away, let me see." She wasn't looking at the camera and her black blue hair was tied up into a pony tail. She was wearing a white robe and the person she was talking to was an unfamiliar female with red hair who was also seated and wearing a white robe.

They seemed to be studying something and were wearing microscopic glasses over their faces. "Wow, this is amazing. Just one injection and it's already began to move." The thing looked to be a red mass which soon start to look like a baby mice.

Suddenly a large face appears in the screen, his father. "hey baby!" he waved with a huge grin," how are you. I hope you are not too lonely without daddy."

"Who are you talking to? What are you doing?"

Sasuke's mother comes into the screen after divesting the microscopic glasses.

"Just making a little record for Sasuke," he replied.

"Oh, then me too." Her smile turned sweet and she started making burbling noises. "hello my little bupkin kucking noozel."

"What are you saying," her husband demanded with a deadpan look.

"I'm saying hello."

"he won't understand a thing."

"Of course he will, he is a baby. My little tuchkinsie." She smiled at the camera and Sasuke laughed at his father's expression.

"One day he is going to grow up and none of this would make sense."

"Then I would be by his side and it won't matter. Isn't that right tuchkin. You are the world's cutest little angel and mummy loves you to the moon and back. "

"Daddy loves you too. Sorry we couldn't bring you along, we will next time okay?"

"Hey is that the red light?!" someone shouted in the background.

Sasuke's mother disappeared from the screen and his father lowered the camera so that Sasuke could see his white robe and the others looking alarmed in the room.

"Don't tell me another one broke out?"

"Get my father!" with that the clip ended.

Sasuke swallowed. He had tried his best to stay dried eyed throughout the whole clip and may have succeeded due to the fact that he was frozen in place by the familiar background. The same flooring, the same large and high ceiling, even the shelf counter he was presently using to watch the video. That place was no doubt, the Aforum.

Sasuke had no idea his parents were scientists too. He had no idea. No there is information that he dug about them. His mother was a lawyer and his father a business man. Was that a lie?

Forget about that for a moment! Is parents had been here. They had been part of the team experimenting on the animals and therefore they had been…

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke clicked off the computer in a hurry, his heart beating fast. He took his time to turn, so that he could control his racing emotions. So that he will not know.

"Yes?" he hoped his voice sounded normal.

"Are you alright?"

"hm, why are you asking?"

Neji studied him and then shook his head. "The chimpanzees are making a lot of noise today, Naruto and we are going to go see what is wrong."

The chimpanzees? Sasuke never bothered to ask about them. "Were they a part of the experiment done here?"

"Why are you still asking about that, "came the somewhat confused response.

They never tried to dodge a question before so Sasuke had been somewhat blindly going along with everything they say. What if they knew who he was all along and are just biding their time in the hopes that he could help them finish what his grandfather started and so would accomplish their goal of becoming like human.

Naruto said that they had no plans of going to the human world but he is so concerned about looking human. Perhaps…perhaps what they are really after his to enter A.L.U without being noticed.

"Sasuke-kun?"

He was shaking as his mind raced all over the place. They knew who he was. They must have held his grandfather by some kind of ransom and forced him to build the device and then when he won't cooperate anymore they killed him and made it possible for Sasuke to come take his place.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Neji was no longer standing few paces away but nearly in front of Sasuke. The shock of his sudden presence in front of him caused Sasuke to shout and fall off the chair in his attempt to get away.

Naruto appeared like smoke and picked him up. "What's wrong?" the concern in his voice sounded genuine. Sasuke couldn't stop shaking to answer.

"Neji, what did you do to him?"

"Nothing, we were just worried about him."

"I told you not to upset him."

Sasuke caught Naruto's arm and squeezed, "I'm fine. Sorry Neji, I guess I need more sleep and I'm just tired."

He pulled away from Naruto and turned to head towards the cabin but the yellow haired youth came along. Sasuke glanced at him…"I'm fine on my own," he muttered.

"I know, I just want to see it for myself."

What is he saying? Sasuke looked away in confusion.

"If I don't see you sleep, I won't be able to concentrate on anything."

"Huh?"

He stopped walking and whipped around. "Do you know how perverted that sounds?"

"Perverted," he had such a thick skin to be smiling," is it bad?"

"Yeah, don't tell me you like watching people sleep, you were looking at me this morning too."  
"But you look cute when you sleep. I like it."

Sasuke's jaw nearly touched the ground. Wait, is this snake flirting with me?!

"Ah, I surprised you."

"No, you are freaking me out. Don't tell just anyone that they look cute when they sleep."

"Okay, I will only tell you."

"argh, that's not what I meant!"

They were at Sasuke's door before he even realized it. All thoughts had fled him in his argument with Naruto that he nearly walked past it, but a tan hand took hold of his and stopped him.

"Oh. We are here."  
"hm."

"Well, off you go, I don't want you going in with me."

"…then can I stand here?"

"No, stop creeping me out already."

Feeling goosebumps all over, Sasuke opened the door and slammed it on Naruto's face.

Once he was alone his expression relaxed into a frown. He had stayed behind to gather information and nothing more, and now he had them. Those videos, if he could get his hands on them and manage to get out before they realize then he might be able to make it out alive from this place.

That decision made him go to seat on the bed and think over the video he had seen.

He fell asleep without realizing it and when he woke up in that uncomfortable position, his neck was cramping just a little bit and he was hungry again, but he ignored everything and came out to take a look around.

In the laboratory, none of the other animals seemed to be allowed there so he was free to walk in without fear, but that did not mean it would be empty apparently. Someone was seating in front of the computer and it was none other than Kiba.

Sasuke's heart skipped as he thought Kiba was watching the video, but the computer screen was black. Still he didn't relax.

"What are you doing?" he asked trying to sound normal.

Kiba turned around not the least bit surprised at his presence then he got to his feet.  
"I'm here to make sure that you are working?"

"What," Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, you said you will help wake Ino right?" he blinked towards the computer, "and what the old man had in the box was what you need didn't you? Well come and seat here and I will watch over every single thing you do."

"So you don't trust me."

"Why should I? Do you even have to ask? You are just a filthy human, the last thing I want to do is trust you."  
"Then whatever, you do it then. I'm going back to the cabin."

"What?"

Sasuke could not believe this asshole dog was here to cause him trouble again just when he needed to collect those files from the computer. He secretly clicked his tongue and clenched his fist.

"Hey, just a minute. Stop right there!"

The loud voice and nothing else made Sasuke pause.

"You were coming here to work on it anyway so why are you going back to your cabin?"

He turned around and took in the dog bastard's dumbfounded look. "It is not my cabin and why should I do anything when you don't trust me. I don't think I can work with your stupid eyes watching over my every move."

"What?! Who has stupid eyes? You just can't wait to die can you?"

He let out a little growl and Sasuke smirked but he was shivering inside, his back getting cold sweat. "I don't want to want to hear those kinds of threats every time, so excuse me."

"Hey wwait…"

He kept walking to get away but Kiba rushed to stand in front of him arms wide, blocking him. When Sasuke moved to the left to pass around him, he would follow like a damn leech.

"What is your problem?" he ended up shouting.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Okay!"

"huh?"

"Don't you dare make me repeat it. "

He put his hands down and scratched his shaggy hair, "I didn't mean anything by saying that I don't trust you. You are still a foolish human…"

"I'm not foolish if I was do you think—"

"Yeah, yeah," he cut Sasuke off and smirked at him, "whatever, I don't even like it here anyway." He turned around to leave.

"Then why in the world did you come," stupid animal was just always bothering him.

"I wanted to be with you." It was a murmuring but Sasuke thought he had heard wrong.

"What? You wanted to do what"  
"to…" he turned and there was a huge blush on his face," you are just so stupid!"

Sasuke's mouth fell open. "Mu…ah?! That fu-arh-stup-dumb idiot!"He shouted at the frustration inducing animal. Only in this place did he get so worked up that he would cuss like this. What the hell was that idiot animal thinking?

Kiba had already run away so he couldn't hear any of Sasuke's frustrated shouting. Sasuke gave up trying to understand the animal and went back to the computer. He had thought that they were onto him for a moment there.

He looked back towards where Kiba had vanished off to and then at the top floor of the lab where Neji usually stands. He was well and truly alone. He sat down before the computer and began to organize all the files away to be copied back into the drive and recoded.

It took almost an hour and before then Neji and Naruto returned. Sasuke walked into the kitchen to pretend to be busy to keep them from talking to him but as typical Naruto was glued to his side.

Sasuke endured his presence and when they were not looking, took the drive and pushed it into his pocket. Once inside the cabin he used, he got his things ready. He only needed a moment but it can't be night; that Babo might be out walking again. Sasuke decided to go in the early morning. He didn't know anything about Neji's and Naruto's sleeping pattern, the blue eyed snake said he did not sleep but there has to be a time he rests.

When the long hand of the clock struck six, Sasuke stepped out of the cabin without his things, just to scout the environment, and walked right into Neji. The blue head snake was just leaning on the wall by the entrance to the cabin area, his brown bangs falling over his face in the way that caused Sasuke to nearly gasps and his heart to start racing.

"Neji," he said.

Neji raised his head and stared at him. "You are up early," he said.

"uh yeah, what are you doing here?" as far as he knew he was the only one using the cabin area, the animals certainly don't need it.

"Thinking," Neji said. "Are you hungry again, you eat a lot don't you?"

"What about you, what do you eat?"

"There is food in the forest. Naruto and We like to haunt."

A shiver raced through Sasuke's body at the thought of that giant snake chasing some poor animal. He pictured their manifestations and it really made his skin go cold.

"We noticed yesterday that something was wrong,"Neji said.

Sasuke brought his attention back and found the white eyes fixed on him. He swallowed. _He is watching me, I thought he just wants to give me some information but he is making sure I don't steep out of line._

"Nothing is wrong,"

"Did you find out something that upset you?"

Sasuke gave the appropriate amount of pause and admitted," I guess, I was just wandering how much about me you and the others already know before I was brought here."

Neji finally looked away." why do you think that?"

I am right. Sasuke clenched his fist. "You know, my parents, I don't know much about them, but they told me that they had come to land on a trip and were either killed or lost. They were never found."

Neji said nothing for a moment too long and Sasuke thought he would stop acting and finally admit the whole plan, it might not be a good idea to provoke them but Sasuke just didn't know how to stop himself. He opened his mouth but Neji spoke over him.

"Don't jump to any conclusion by yourself Sasuke-kun," he said, "ask me anything and I will tell you the truth."

"Answer me this then. If I want to leave this place would you let me?"

"But you said you would help us—"

"assume I changed my mind."

Neji didn't exactly look at him, his shoulders slumped and his head turned slightly to Sasuke. "You are not a prisoner, Sasuke-kun. We won't stop you if you want to leave, but we wish you wouldn't leave."

"Why?"

He said nothing. Sasuke answered for him. To make me complete the work, right.

"Well count yourself lucky that I won't leave," he smiled and walked past Neji without another word. He wasn't stupid enough to fall for that, the minute he admitted to wanting to leave then they would show their true colors.

The day passed in the same way; Sasuke pretended to be busy with reading his grandfather's data, Naruto came to his side and he tried his best to teach him some human expressions and Kiba was there to irritate him and Neji's silent and occasionally speaking self was also there and they were all practically making sure that Sasuke didn't go anywhere without them.

Sasuke stepped out of the shower and looked at the drive he made sure to keep with him. He wanted to know more about what was inside it, but he couldn't risk it, if they knew that he had seen that video then they would immediately understand the conclusion he came to.

The door of the bathroom suddenly opened. Sasuke was so shocked he nearly forgot to hide the drive. He rushed forward and grabbed it with both hands. When he looked up a naked Naruto was looking at him.

"N-Naruto?"

After that he yelled and smacked the snake hard on the head.

"ow"

"Get out! Ah my eyes!" he just saw the genitals of a snake, no,no, what a disaster! He wanted to scrub out his eyes and then bleach them.

"Wait," in the mist of his yelling something occurred to him. That was… that looked like… it definitely looked real. "It was real right?"

He looked at the door, Naruto was driven back outside by his smack but he would still be there.

"Naruto, come here." Sasuke commanded. He had his hand over his eyes when he heard the door open and sensed the snake in front of him. He swallowed. "Don't—close your eyes. Have you done it?"

"Yes."

He opened his fingers so he could still see between the cracks and saw that Naruto's eyes were really closed. Cheeks burning, he slowly lowered his gaze to Naruto's chest. He was fit, like those fitness trainers' fit. And he was tan. His eyes went lower still and stopped on Naruto's six pack abs. it's just mechanized, nothing else, he sneered.

Of course being a book and indoors lover, Sasuke didn't really care for six packs abs, his stomach was flat and smooth and that was okay. Scoffing internally, his eyes lowered some more and he swallowed again. Below was…

"Ah!" Sasuke screamed and pushed Naruto out again.

"Oh god, it is real isn't it. Grandfather has a really perverted mind, he even made that place…" shivering Sasuke squeezed his eyes closed.

"Can I come back in?"

"No, go away. What are you doing taking a bath, you are just a snake!"

"I like the warm water. "

"At least wait for me to come outside."

There was silence so Sasuke began to grab his clothes but then the voice said,

"Are you shy?"

Sasuke spluttered.

"but we both have the same thing…" then he had the gall to add, "though I would like to see how you look like too.""

"What!" What a perverted snake! "Shut up! Don't say another word."

Trembling, Sasuke quickly wore his clothes. He felt traumatized by what he had seen. It probably isn't even real.

The drive tucked away in his pocket, Sasuke walked out of the bathroom dressed and addressed Naruto with his face turned away, "next time give me a warning before you go inside, okay?"

His hand was caught as he made to leave," can't we do it together?"

"d-d-d-do what?" his voice rose as he stammered still not looking at the naked Naruto.

"bath."

Sasuke exhaled and dragged his hand away," don't even think about it," he snapped and walked away.

He slammed the door shut and made up his mind, ""I have to get out of this place"

Tomorrow he would do it. He would make sure that this time he won't be caught.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Tomorrow became the next day and then on and on till three days have passed since his shower scene with Naruto. There was just no gap in their security. They acted like they were not watching him but Sasuke was never left alone; either Naruto was there or Neji was and then there was Kiba.

In the end Sasuke actually stopped pretending to work and really started taking some notes on his grandfather's written work. He wondered if some of these notes were actually written by his mother or father, it was likely.

He realized soon that Naruto was their biggest focus for a time. When he read through one experiment he couldn't help a feeling of sickness.

_The subject was stabbed with a laser blade and the inside was turned, but it still continued to live. The subject's blood stream contains many of the missing elements in unbelievable amount_.

They poked and prodded, cut and re-cut. Sasuke lowered the paper and met blue eyes. Naruto had taken to watching him all the time, when he sees Sasuke looking back he smiled.

"How can you smile?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto blinked, "I lift my cheeks like this and—"

"I don't mean describe it for me! " Sasuke sighed, this snake always takes things so literally. "You know, the experiments."

"It was painful."

"Yeah. Don't you hate me?"

His head tilted sideways. "Why would I?"

Right, he still thinks Sasuke did not know that his parents had been a part of it, they were one of the people whose hands cut him. "Don't ask me. You know that I am human and humans are the ones that—"

Naruto suddenly started crawling on his hand and knees to Sasuke, making him want to run away. What was he doing? They had both been seating on the floor in his grandfather's office, the floor was tiled and not too hard, seating on the chair had become tedious hence why.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked blinking.

Naruto lifted himself to his knees and rubbed Sasuke's head," don't worry about me hating you, no matter what I can never hate you."

Sasuke stared up at him who was smiling so warmly. Is he really just a snake? This was more affection than he has ever received from any human before.

"Why? Why do you like me so much?"

"because you are cute," Naruto replied sincerely, eyes curving closed," you are the cutest in the whole world, Sasuke."

That was the first he has ever heard his name from Naruto's mouth.

Sasuke felt himself blushing vaguely but he couldn't stop looking at Naruto. "I don't get it, how can you say things like that. If you want to be more human try not to be so embarrassing," he turned away.

"But it is the truth," his cheeks were cupped and his eyes forced to meet blue ones.

"There is no one more important than you, Sasuke."

There was a moment when Sasuke thought that the hands on his face were not cold but really warm and there was a smell, so pleasant and so familiar. He had a faint sense of wanting to be hugged by that scent.

He didn't know when his eyes fell close. This feeling of security, right from the start, somewhere inside, whenever Naruto was there, this feeling could vaguely be felt. Why did he feel like he could trust him? Naruto was someone he has never met before; he wasn't even a person and he… probably killed Sasuke's parents. Still Sasuke couldn't feel even a little afraid of him. These hands on his cheeks, they would not hurt him.

"What are you doing?"

His eyes opened and from the corner he could see the somewhat curious and somewhat annoyed face of Kiba. He took Naruto's hands from his face and glared at him, "here to make another threat, dog jerk?"

"I already told you to quit it with the name calling! I didn't make any death threats to you yesterday!"

"Oh," Sasuke pretended to remember,"Naruto, didn't this Dog jerk threaten me yesterday. He said something along the lines of, do you want to get boiled, or something. I don't really forget things."

"You are right, that's exactly what he said, even the tone he said it is correct."

"Hey, hey, you two better cut it out, the way you guys are getting along is starting to weird me out."  
Sasuke's eyes perked up. That's actually true, Naruto and Sasuke were getting along really well almost to the point that Naruto no longer gave one word replies and actually tries to be snarky.

"That's right, come to think of it, Naruto your Japanese has improved greatly. Have you been learning somewhere?"

"I am learning from you."

"Me?" Sasuke pointed at himself.

"We are very fast learners. Kiba learned how to talk from watching movies. When he was turning, the old man thought it would be funny to make him watch these strangely violent movies."

"Ah, so that's where his bad attitude came from," Sasuke lifted a finger.

"Exactly," Naruto responded akimbo.

"argh, quit talking about me like I am not in the room!"

"In that case, Naruto, you can learn to be more human by watching movies too."

"I like it when you teach me."

"I'm not always going to be around."

Silence suddenly settled around them and Sasuke glanced back and forth between them, then he realized what he had just said. The two eyes were fixed on him rather worryingly.

"ah, I meant that when I finish with the work, yeah, when I wake the girl, Ino, up"

Their faces didn't brighten up though and it got quite awkward so that Sasuke decided to go for a break despite having gone for one already.

Escaping the awkward atmosphere wasn't easy. He climbed a stair he hadn't seen before, it was a little dark, and the light must be broken. The stairs led him up to a door and it was strange that it didn't open automatically. Doors like this still existed even in an A.L.U facility. It was probably because this place was quite old.

When Sasuke took the handle and turned it, it opened the sky. He gasped as the wind blew over his face, flapping his hair about. "This is…"

Sasuke was breathless with awe. The sky looks so different from here. Why is it so blue and the clouds. Is this how real sky looks like? He caught himself smiling and this led him to laugh. So beautiful. The sun is so warm, so unbelievable.

Because citizens of A.L.U never see the real sun, they were pale like Sasuke to the point of being called white, unless they had colored skin. One day, maybe A.L.U won't need the glass shell anymore, maybe the world, the old world is reviving.

Sasuke took a look around and realized he was on the roof of the Aforum, it was surrounded by a somewhat rusting railing The area surrounding the Aforum was covered with trees, really tall trees and high grasses… but there was something else. Something that looked invisible but glinted rainbow colors in the sunlight, a force field. Was there something like that there before, or did they just put it there. Why? They can't know that Sasuke was planning to run, do they?

He walked over to take a closer look and heard a sound like the rush of wind. When he turned to see what that was, he froze, eyes bulging out.

Before him was a very large snake with Blue scaly head, thick and long, the rest of its body was a bluish brown and it was curled so many times its head stood as high as a house alone. Sasuke swallowed.

"Neji, you are Neji right?" he tried to sound unaffected but his right leg was twitching and he was starting to sweat, his voice trembled lightly. "I'm sorry I disturbed your—"

"You've always been a little too curious for you own good, Sasuke."

"I—what?"

It can talk even in snake form? Sasuke blinked. When he focused his gaze, the large snake was spearing for him. He barely managed to dodge to the side.

The large head paused, a shy from hitting the railing. Then it turned.

"Sasuke, little one, We have missed you. We was waiting for a chance to eat you. You better run, Sasuke, We are not going to go easy on you, not with this fine opportunity."

Sasuke was on the floor mouth open and trembling in horror, then he yelled and started running. _He is going to eat me. He is going to eat me. He is going to eat me!_

There was nowhere to run to. The large body of the snake was everywhere curling its way around the door so that there was no way out. Sasuke was now caught between the railing and the snake.

"w-why are you trying to eat me?" he asked, "I thought you wanted my help."

"Help? Why would We want such a thing?"

Its heavy head speared forward like an arrow and hit the railing Sasuke had been leaning on. It was so fast that Sasuke had no idea that he could have jumped fast enough to avoid it. The railing broke apart, Sasuke had been holding on to it and as it went so did he.

"Naruto!" he had no idea why he yelled that name, just that he needed to call on something and only that name came to mind.

Thankfully not all the railing broke and even though he was now hanging over the edge, he was still good enough that he won't fall to his death. The Aforum seemed to be as high as a four storey building.

Sasuke looked up and found the white eyes looking at him. His heart raced with Adrenaline and fear. "Neji, are you really Neji?"

He didn't sound like Neji but what other snake had blue head and was this big, also the white eyes.

"Do you really want to Kill me? Didn't you want to use me to wake Ino, didn't you want to accomplish your goal?

If he could reason with him then maybe, maybe he could stall till Naruto finds him.

"Why are you attacking me?"

The snake turned its head as if not wanting to listen but Sasuke would not let it. "I know what you people did to my parents; I know you killed my grandfather in other to draw me into the forest. Didn't you do that for a reason? Think, Neji!"

The railing was rather old and it wasn't going to hold Sasuke's weight on top of the other part of the railing hanging down. Sasuke heard it give a warning crang sound and turned his eyes away.

When he looked back, Neji was slowly twisting to him. "Don't kill me," he gasped," please! I will help you, I swear. Please."

He could only sense the snake in front of him because he had closed his eyes and in his mind's eye he remembered the cool and collected Neji who told him to ask anything and he would answer.

"You said that if I ask anything you would answer, right? You said you didn't wish for me to leave, isn't that right? Can't you remember everything that you've said to me? All that you did to help me so that I can finish the work?"

His throat closed at the thought of dying," I don't want to die," he strangled out. "I don't want to die, Neji!"

"Sas—uke-Kun"

He opened his eyes and saw that the snake was gone and instead there was a young man standing there.

"I—"

Sasuke was still too terrified, sure that Neji could retransform without warning. The railing broke and started falling. Sasuke cried out both in shock and terror. The part he was holding has severed cleanly and he who was still holding on was going down with it.

But he didn't go down all the way, he was still suspended. When he looked, he found the cause. Neji had caught the railing with the half his body turned snake. Sasuke shook but remained looking at him. "Neji," he whispered.

"Sasuke-kun, We are sorry," he said, "We lost our mind for a moment. Please forgive us."

Sasuke stared at him, he sounded really different from the snake that had wanted to eat him.

"Sasuke-kun, please grab our hand," he held out a human hand to Sasuke but Sasuke only stared at it. He would never forget what happened the last time he touched Neji.

"Please, trust me."

How can he even ask that? Sasuke glanced at the snake appendage holding the railing and keeping it suspended in the air. How can he be sure that Neji was back to his senses, he was probably trying to pull Sasuke in.

"You can touch us, Sasuke-kun. When We turned the other time it was because We was surprised. No one ever touches me, We are the snake of the water, We hurt anyone who touch us so the others always stayed clear. When you touched us We could only react defensively, but right now, We give you permission to touch us, Sasuke-kun and We promise never to hurt or scare you again. What We said in my snake form, please forgive us. Our instincts were in control of me. From this day on wards,"

He paused as his snake appendage quivered and Sasuke could tell that the weight of the railing was too hard even for him.

"We won't ever let any harm come to you."

Sasuke was still not sure but if he didn't hold on to something and Neji let go, he would surely die or become paralyzed. He started to reach his hand to Neji who leaned even more despite the strain, to catch him but then the wind shifted and something curled around his waist.

Sasuke had a split second to catch yellow hair then he was flying. Screaming in fright, thinking that he was going to fall or hit something, Sasuke closed his eyes.

He did not hit anything but landed on his feet on the ground in someone's arms. He raised his head and saw Naruto's poker face. No, make that his mad face. Naruto's face wasn't contorted or twisted, but his blue eyes were slit and the veins around them were standing on his skin.

Wait, did he just save me? Sasuke turned around and noticed that they were on the roof and the area he was standing on was cracked like something heavy had landed there and the railing was gone. He wasn't sure what exactly just happen. How did Naruto catch him from bellow?

"Neji," Naruto hissed and then he was gone. Sasuke gasped as the speed of his movement spun him in place.

When he looked, he saw Naruto grabbing Neji by the throat, a full on snake Neji. The second time seeing this did not make it less amazing. First off, the rules of physics were being distorted. How are his hands choking a snake that large?

"Naruto." Sasuke called him but it was like he had lost his voice and Naruto did not stop squeezing Neji. Sasuke could see the strain on the scaly neck that was undulating. He could hear the sound of muscles being crushed and he also noticed that Neji wasn't fighting back, his huge tail was just whipping back and forth.

"Stop it, Naruto."

No response. Neji looked like he was having a hard time, like he couldn't free himself, his wide fanged mouth was open but no sound was coming out.

Kiba was also there standing near the edge without saying a word. The scales were bulging and the neck was looking even thinner by the minute. And Naruto won't hear what Sasuke was saying.

He closed his eyes, clenched his fist and rushed forward. He got there, grabbed that bicep and held on. He didn't see Naruto snap around, his eyes thick with veins and his mouth full of fangs. After seeing Sasuke, however, the dangerous look washed away fast.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke opened his eyes and smiled in relief. "You are back to yourself," he said, sighed and fell to his knees. He had not wanted to get in between two large monsters, he had been trembling but his legs went there even though he was too afraid.

Neji was still in snake form. Once Sasuke looked at him, he suddenly flung himself over his head and rolled his heavy twisting body so fast out of the roof and in a matter of seconds was gone. Sasuke was left speechless.

"Ah, look at the mess you've gone and made." This was Kiba. Sasuke was still in shock at the speed by which that snake could move. If he had moved that fast before then Sasuke certainly would be dead by now, he couldn't have dodged that. Had he been…

"Are you alright?" he turned his head at the sound of Naruto's voice. The guy had knelt in front of Sasuke and was looking very remorseful.

"Yeah, I just think I need a moment for my trembling to die down." Even his voice was shaking.

"I'm sorry for coming late."

"The fact that you came at all is already good enough. The building must be sound proof, there is no way you could have heard me." even saying that, Sasuke was almost relieved to the point that he thought he could cry.

_Thank you for coming for me._

"What did you do this time?"

Sasuke hesitantly looked at Kiba. The face on Kiba was quite mean and annoyed. "Did you touch him again? Why do you like getting in trouble so much. Could it be that you have a death wish."

"Shut up! What do you know?"

Kiba quietly scoffed," you are such a nuisance." With that he jumped off the building with both his hands tucked in his pocket.

For a moment Sasuke's heart skipped and he feared that Kiba would die, he nearly hurried to make sure but then he remembered.

"ah, that's right, he is not a person either."

"What?" Sasuke lowered his eyes and shrug off Naruto's hand.

"I'm fine, I'm going to go…" he paused and looked at Naruto. His blue eyes were normal, so normal that Sasuke wondered when he stopped thinking they weren't strange. Those blue eyes looked worried.

"Sasuke," Naruto said when he didn't finish what he was going to say.

"hm?"

"Do you want a hug?"

Huh? The expression was lost in his breath. He looked at Naruto without blinking.

"You were scared right?"

Sasuke did not answer, or rather he could not answer.

"Isn't it right to hug you as a human would?''

Sasuke relaxed into a smile. "No dobe, we are both guys. We don't do hugs."

"Then how am I supposed to say all that I can't say? How am I supposed to comfort you?"

What is this snake saying? This is too much even for a device made by his grandfather. Sasuke looked away. "Just a pat on the shoulder is good," he said strongly.

The blue in the sky was fading away and turning a light pink. It would be nightfall soon.

"Naruto can you go after Neji," he said, "just to make sure he is okay?"

"hm," Naruto responded without hesitance, it was like he didn't try to kill Neji just a few minutes ago. "I will be back, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded agreeably. "When I come back let me hug you," Naruto said standing awfully close.

"What?"

"Not for you, but for me."

Sasuke bit his lip. "If you are fast enough," he said, "I might consider it."

"okay!" that was his first ever time sounding so cheerful it made Sasuke stare at him but Naruto shot off the roof with one jump and was gone.

"Ah, so that's how he got me."

Sasuke laughed and covered his face. "What is wrong with me?"

Worrying about Kiba, being shaken by Naruto's consistent affection and even Neji. These people, no these animals were responsible for his parent's death. But still, despite thinking that why didn't he want to leave?

He made so many excuses these past three days that inevitably delayed his escape. Why has he been wasting time, living with them, laughing with them. Had he been pretending, or was it really how he felt. Why didn't he want to leave them, why did being called a nuisance hurt so much?

Despite being in snake form Neji tried to help him. Tried to control himself, Naruto protected him. These things that didn't happen anywhere in the world he has seen them and he has been scared by them, and has laughed around them.

"What am I doing?"

He pulled his hands away and turned to the door, fist clenched. "I have actually been stopping myself from leaving."

Maybe because he still wanted more information? No, the truth was there is no one in A.L.U who cared for him the way these animals do. He liked it. Being in this place, teaching Naruto to behave like a human, arguing with Kiba and talking with Neji, he liked all of it. But how can he, why should he?

"Enough stalling, Sasuke."

In the first place, he didn't actually belong here and two if they really killed his parents then he was in danger. It was hard to convince himself of that when faced with the number of times Naruto saved him, Neji giving him space so as not to frighten him and Kiba's concern.

He stopped and swallowed over a sudden ache in his chest. "No, I have to leave. I have to go back to be with people, where I belong."

So what if I will never meet people like them again, that's life. People meet and then they part and this was as much for himself as it is for them. Before he caused any more trouble he would leave.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

They were all still away when Sasuke with his back pack strapped to his back took off into the forest. It was nearly dark now and given the amount of time he had walked the last time, he estimated that it would be around eight o'clock or nine before he could get back, after that he had to find away to signal the search and rescue team. Unlike before he didn't have a rider waiting for him.

The forest was nosy with birds returning home and the ruffling of leaves. It felt cold and moist, like the sky was brewing to rain. Sasuke trudged on.

The force field he had seen before was apparently not meant to restrict people from moving away from the Aforum. It was probably meant for something though; scientist did not put up force fields for nothing.

He walked for an hour, checking around and trying his best not be too obvious. The last thing he wanted was to become food for some animal and he didn't want to encounter Babo again.

The sky was dark and a slight drizzle was causing Sasuke's bangs to drip. Why hasn't the entrance come up yet? His time told him he had been walking for nearly an hour and thirty minutes. He was exhausted beyond comparison and he really only had the fact that it was cool and not hot to thank for not collapsing.

Panting, Sasuke stopped and looked at the road ahead, then the road behind. Was he going crazy or do they both look the same. It wasn't like this before. He sighed and took a rest by a tree, took out a bottle of water and gulped.

"At this rate those guys are going to find me," he said. "I can't be any more trouble to them."

He raised himself again and decided to go left instead of forward, then a little later changed to walking right.

An hour later he was crouched under a cave to keep away from the pouring rain. "ah, I should have come with the map of this forest," he grumbled. "oh right, stupid unexplored forest.

It didn't take long for his tired and aching body to fall asleep and vaguely he felt like someone else was inside with him.

He didn't know how long he was out for but when he woke up there was light around him. He sat up fast. The light was coming from an open fire. Sasuke marveled at it then his eyes moved to land on the white face.

A scream rose and died just as fast in his throat so he was only staring opened mouth.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun"

"Neji," he whispered.

"Did you sleep well?" the snake asked, "We was worried you would feel cold so We set the fire. Is it good, are your clothes dry yet? Are you hungry? We caught some rabbits but you will probably want to cook it first before you eat it."

He was asking so many questions and Sasuke could barely keep up. "Neji," he stopped him.

Neji fell silent; his head still looking towards Sasuke but his eyes were not.

"You are Neji, right?" Sasuke asked.

"Naruto and Kiba are worried sick, they went out to look for you. We know it's our fault…" he trailed off.

"What do you mean your fault?" Sasuke asked, a frown forming on his face.

"Well, Naruto and Kiba think We drove you away. And they are not wrong. We are the worst, We wish We had more control over ourselves. If we had not tried to eat you, if we had not scared you…"

What is that about?  
"I didn't leave because of that," Sasuke blurted.

Now Neji's white eyes met his and Sasuke was amazed by the emotions he saw in them; sadness, trust, and even hope. He smiled. They all seem so human that he could almost forget sometimes that they were not, but human or animal it seems they all shared the same ability to get hurt and the same tendency to feel insecure.

"It's true that you frightened me, I really thought I was going to die," he admitted with a rue smile," but I have experienced that so much since I entered the forest. I can't say that I am used to it, I really don't want my life to keep being in danger, but it is not the reason why I needed to get away."

Once he finished only the cackling of burning wood echoed between them. Neji was still staring and Sasuke was returning the stare.

"Then, why."

Sasuke squeezed his hands. The words he needed to say next might turn this conversation around but he had a feeling that it wouldn't really change anything. Neji might drop the act of pretending to be more human than animal and force Sasuke back to the Aforum or he might let him leave, either way the words needed to be said.

"It's about what I said to you. I know that the scientist wronged you and that all of you killing them, was something your instincts to protect yourself drove you to do, you probably did not mean to use me, but it is the only choice you came to, I think I understand a little too well and so it makes it really hard for me to hate any one of you. "

He paused, "it's just that my parents were among those scientists that were killed and I can't overlook that. What kind of a person, a son would I be if I willingly helped my parents killers. I have no memory of them but they are still my parents, I still love them. "

He laughed emptily," I don't even understand it, but it is true. I do love my parents and I wish I could have met them." They had looked like really nice people in that video, maybe if they had been alive Sasuke wouldn't have grown up the way he did: alone and cold in that haunted mansion. What would it have been like to have his parents around?

The silence stretched but Sasuke didn't mind.

"Sasuke-kun," Sasuke wished he wouldn't speak yet. If he said anything now then it would bring down reality, it would make him face what he didn't want to face and finally put down the lie that he wanted to believe or was starting to believe.

"What you are saying, you can't be more wrong."

He lifted eyes unaware of when he had moved them to looking at the fire.

"Your parents were really good people, even if We are blind or crazy, even if We turn into a monster We would never kill them. The same goes for you."

Sasuke blinked slowly," what?"

Neji was smiling, "there is something We want you to see."

Something he wants Sasuke to see.

After leaving the cave, he followed Neji until they reached the Aforum. Despite feeling like he shouldn't, he couldn't help trusting Neji. He had tried so hard to get away from this place but used his own two legs to come back now. He really couldn't have given any good enough explanation for why he was doing this, only that he trusted Neji.

When Sasuke thought back to the time Neji could have killed him and didn't, when Neji was willing to give him as much help in understanding what was happening, he couldn't help wanting to trust him, so he followed through the automatic door into the Aforum.

When he entered, Naruto's blue eyes held his. Sasuke's heart skipped and he had to look away. He sensed the other coming to him and braced himself to be smacked but instead, arms wrapped around him and he felt coldness all over. He stood very still, grasping at understanding.

"Why did you leave," Naruto said next to his ear," do you know how much you worried me? You promised me a hug before, I'm taking it now."

Sasuke's sense of coldness seemed to disappear and it was all warm everywhere. "Yeah," he said and gradually encircled Naruto's back. When it was a few moments later, he pulled away and scratched at his cheek while avoiding the blue and white eyes.

"I didn't mean to worry you, "he said abash and unable to identify why.

"Let's go, Sasuke-kun"

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked faster than Sasuke could nod and he too waited for an answer.

"I think it's time to show him, Naruto."

Sasuke did not expect Naruto's eyes to grow wide and then look at him. He jerked back a little feeling like he should explain but there was nothing to say.

"are you sure?" he was the one being asked even though he had no idea what they wanted to show him but he had hope that it would vindicate them, that it would allow him to stay with them a little longer. If it was something like that then Sasuke was sure that he wanted to see it. He nodded.

Instead of looking pleased, Naruto looked sad and his palm cupped Sasuke's cheek. He could only stare at those eyes in return, those eyes that were saying something, eyes that were sad, not for their owner but for Sasuke.

"Why are you…"

"It's good," Naruto said almost the same time. "You really belong here instead."

Huh?

"What's this? You found him and no one came to get me?" Kiba walked in frowning. "Hey you idiot human, you dared to escape again."

Sasuke didn't reply and only turned to look at him. Kiba blinked a few times and seemed to read the mood. "What's happening?"

"Come along if you want to know, Kiba."

Neji started to walk and Sasuke and Naruto followed him. They passed the cabin and entered the scientist's lodge. Sasuke has only been there once in the week and half that he has been in the place.

He was led passed there to an automatic door. Neji stopped in front of it and it opened. There was a room that had a strange atmosphere. When light flooded the place, it opened up a colored room. It would be the only colored room Sasuke has ever seen in this place. Normally all the walls are white, but this one had blue, tones of green and a light pink. And it had a crib with shingles hanging over it. The floor wasn't tiled either but had a soft blue carpet. On the side was what looked like toys, they had been loaded into a small plastic box.

Sasuke stepped forward before the others and looked at the place. "What is this place?" he asked.

"Your room."

"My room?" he still did not understand, or his mind was struggling to understand.

"This is the room you used while you were here, twenty one years ago."

Sasuke already arrived at that conclusion but it still made him gasp lightly. "When I was a child my parents brought me here?"

In that video his father had promised to bring him along next time, which means that they didn't die after recording that video, they had enough time to bring Sasuke along. Then what?

"You don't remember," Kiba said, "of course you don't, you were just a runt."

"So you knew me, even then when I first got here. You knew who I was."

Naruto nodded. "We all had brief encounters with you."

"You kept slipping into my cage, you were really tiny so you got through the cage bars. Do you how many times I could have eaten you? I wasn't even in this form then."  
Sasuke felt air freeze in his throat as Kiba spoke.

"They let me roam around freely? Even when they had you people around?"

"I'm sure they did their best to keep you away, but you always found a way to come back. We nearly ate you once " Neji smiled

Sasuke wasn't sure whether he should smile back so he looked at Naruto wanting to hear his own story.

"I didn't meet you until after," he said.

Suddenly the mood that was almost nostalgic and sweet turned sour and gloomy.

"After what?"

"After they came. " Naruto answered. "I was always kept securely away, nothing could have gotten to me. When they tried to get into this place, they took down all the defenses and I was able to get out."

"You keep saying they but I have no idea what you are talking about."

"The old man used to call them the company. They are the enemy." Kiba supplied readily. Sasuke glanced at him. The company.

"When the old man—when your grandfather found out what we were going to be used for, he decided to keep them from getting it. They came to forcefully take it and so they killed everyone and tried to take you away. Your grandfather asked me to save you."

"Even then you and my grandfather had already formed a bond."

"I wouldn't call it a bond. Because you were always sneaking out to meet Kiba, your parents started to look at us differently since Kiba never tried to kill you. "

"Your grandfather took an interest in us intellectually and started to try talking to us."

"But you could talk in snake form."

Neji tilted his head,"we could not."

"But I heard you, yesterday."

"That is also thanks to the Former."

"Your grandfather spoke to us through a crystal ball," Naruto said. "He and your parents wanted to help us."

"It was all because of you, Sasuke."

"So, you are saying the company killed my parents?"

"We don't know," Neji shook his head." But it wasn't us."

"When I got there they had succeeded in taking them, I could only get you and take you away. I wasn't myself, and my size may have done something to the people on that boat, but I just wanted to get you out. I don't know if I got them killed."

"When you got me out."

"I was injured so I kept you safe and tried to keep you warm."

"Your grandfather found the two of you and then finally decided to make the Former."Neji looked somewhat sad and nostalgic at the same time

"So that story about being found in some land was a lie."

"Your grandfather suffered to make sure you were not taken, and they used you to bargain with him into working on the project."

"What happened to my grandfather, is he dead?"

Sasuke wanted it given to him straight.

"We honestly don't know. He never told us anything."

Sasuke sighed, "So my parents were taken by the company. Why didn't my grandfather get them back? What about the other scientists? Did they agree with my grandfather? What about my parents, do you know if they are still alive?" seeing as the company made him their bargaining tool it was probably unlikely. It felt like he was going to explode with all these new information and all the things he still did not know.

"Calm down, Sasuke." Naruto took hold of his hand and he shrugged it off without thinking.

"I need to understand. Everything I thought I knew has been all a lie so what is the truth? I need to know everything, I need to understand."

"What's the point of telling you any more, you are already looking like you can't handle it," Kiba's voice wasn't filled with as much disdain as Sasuke expected. He looked at him and they both shared a long stare then Kiba walked away.

"It's okay to take it slowly Sasuke-kun," Neji drew his attention, "we are here to explain it to you, as much as we know and as much as we can."

Sasuke breathe deeply and let his eyes fall close. "Okay, start from the beginning again"

The two with him looked on worriedly but their mouths open and they began to tell him everything.

His parents were actually scientist working closely with his grandfather on a project assigned to them by the company. It involved studying large animals that should have gone extinct for their energies. When his grandfather discovered that the animals were actually intelligent, evolved to the point where they were almost no difference between them and humans, he started to conduct another experiment. In doing so, he pulled his parents into it and then they discovered a huge secret about the reason why the company wanted to study energy: the world was reviving, as Sasuke had rightly guessed, but the company has kept that a secret intended to keep the people in A.L.U under their control, they wanted to prolong life on A.L.U and were interested in destroying what was left of natural life to accomplish it. They wanted to destroy the reviving world.

That was insane and Sasuke's grandfather ended the research with the help of his scientist who went into hiding but there was no hiding from the company in A.L.U, soon the company sends people over to take the research away, but Sasuke's parents protected it and though Sasuke was still not sure how, they managed to get taken away and Naruto rescued him. So in other words, the company was responsible for his parents' death.

After sleeping on it, it still was no good. He couldn't think of what to do now. He needed something to hold on to. First he grabbed on to blame, he blamed the company and hated them, for their lies and their manipulation and then he held his grandfather responsible, then Naruto and the others and it was so exhausting to keep blaming people.

It felt like he had not been living all these while, that he had been living someone else's life. So his grandfather never considered him as anything till the end, not his grandson and not someone with the right to know about himself.

Maybe he had been worried about what would happen if Sasuke knew too much, maybe he thought keeping him out was safer. But now Sasuke has gone and stuck his nose into it. Now he was involved but where should he go from here.

"Wait," he sat up. He had returned to the cabin after that big reveal and had even managed to sleep. Now his mind began to race with all the information.

The Aforum is still here which means the company still hasn't gotten their hands on the research, but they had to have something otherwise Sasuke wouldn't have lived a relatively normal live, which meant his grandfather had to have given them something.

He must have agreed to do the research. The company is convinced that he is doing the research and they sent Sasuke… wait, why did they allow Sasuke to come?

Sasuke's eyes went wide. Could it be that his grandfather had gone against them again? Or rather he has been against them from the start and only pretended to help. If they know then they would have come down to the Aforum and taken everything apart.

Wait, did they know about Naruto and the others?

Sasuke jumped down from the bed and rushed into the lab to look for them but neither Naruto nor Neji were in the lab. He went up to the roof in his search and the person he found was Kiba.

He paused and watched Kiba who was fixing the railing.

"I didn't know you had any skills." It was a honest observation.

"I didn't know you like courting death this much," yellow eyes glared.

Sasuke sighed. "I guess I am just shocked to see an animal doing something so human."

Kiba didn't retort with annoyance or aggression and it made Sasuke tense.

"The old man, "he began, "thought we were not just animals, not anymore." He then turned and smirked, "I'm pretty good at repairing stuff, give me anything and I can fix it, but I can't do anything about that bad habit of yours."

"Shut up," Sasuke said without heat.

"So, what do you want?"

The question seemed strange in this setting. "You came here to ask more questions right? I can just tell from your twitching eyebrows."

Sasuke touched his eyebrows, they were not twitching.

"The company, do they know about the Former?"

"I hope not, otherwise there is no point."

"Do you know what my grandfather plans to do after he completes the Former."

"Make us blend in. we were going to move to the other part of the world and live quietly."

"So my grandfather had no plans of doing anything to help the company." 

"Nope, why would he when they killed his son. Unlike you, your grandfather is loyal."

Sasuke frowned," what do you mean unlike me?" sometimes Kiba had a way of talking that was the same as asking to be kicked.

"Why are you asking me? Are you not the one that left him to go live in A.L.U?"

"What?"

"You are such a big fan of A.L.U, do you want to go back now that you know the truth?"

"Shut up, you know nothing."

"I know that you abandoned the old man as soon as you could."

"I didn't, I just wanted," Sasuke was shocked to feel his eyes sting.

"You wanted a better and shinning world, you wanted to be popular," his voice was a stupid imitation of a high-schooler. "Now you know what that world is really like, I bet you still want to go back."

"I don't. I never wanted to leave my grandfather, but he was never there. What do you know that you are judging me? Do you know what it was like to live alone in that place? It was always dark and cold and I was always alone. All I wanted was to be around people who could see me. I started to feel like a ghost, like I didn't exist. So I left, so what? It's not like he cared. Even without me he was just fine. He never sent me any messages, and he cut me off like I didn't matter. If I didn't care about him why have I been risking my life? "

He sniffed and cleaned his nose, "don't say so much rubbish without knowing anything."

He expected Kiba to say more but the youth didn't say anything and when Sasuke looked at him he found the yellow eyes focused on him.

"Go ahead and think what you want about me," he said, "I don't feel like defending myself to you."

"the old man did care," Kiba said," I don't know what he was like to you but in front of us he was always talking about you, saying how proud he was. He told us only you can do the work, only you can wake up Ino."

That is what Sasuke didn't get, was that really his grandfather?

Kiba shrugged," maybe I judged you too fast, but you won't ever stop being an idiot human to me."

Sasuke sniffed and rubbed moisture from his eyes," and you would be nothing but a dog jerk to me."

"I already told you, I am not a dog!" Kiba yelled, his head going big. Sasuke smirked, while secretly his heart felt relieved. Even though he and Kiba seemed to never get along, he didn't want the guy to think of him as someone who would run away. He never meant to run, there was just no one trying to keep him there.

His grandfather's white robed back appeared in front of him, shrouded in darkness save for a yellow light coming from an antique lantern. Sasuke felt somewhat like the five year old standing by the door looking in, trying to speak only to be completely ignored.

"Do you want to see my true form? Should I transform for you? If I do don't blame me if you get eaten!" Kiba was still yelling.

"Thank you, Kiba."

"Huh? That sounds weird. What are you thanking me for?"

Sasuke nodded," just thank you."

It sounded like his grandfather who must have been lonely dealing alone with what had happened to Sasuke's parents and with the company must have had some people around him who cared. Sasuke hoped that in the place where he could not seem to fill, they had filled it. It was sad and Sasuke didn't know what he lacked to be so incompetent but it didn't matter, now that he knows the truth, he would have to find a way out.

"Sasuke!" suddenly Naruto was there, his eyes so blue. "I went to look for you in your cabin," he was saying as he walked towards him, the worry on his face so real that it made Sasuke's heart ache softly.

"You were worried?"

"I thought you'd left again," he looked at Kiba then at Sasuke with some confusion. The look on Sasuke's face must have been puzzling, though Sasuke couldn't see his own face he knew his own feelings.

It is true that he still needed to find his grandfather, but his grandfather had made sure to keep these guys safe all these while and all alone. For now, he had to take over this job. Even though he has failed as a grandson all his twenty five years of life, right now he would do his best by making sure to protect what his father and mother had died to protect and he would also make sure that his grandfather can come back to this place where he belongs.

"I won't leave," he smiled and caught the white suit Neji wore by the door. He had his hands crossed over his chest and was looking at Sasuke. "I don't know what it is my grandfather wants me to do but I am going to keep this place safe, I am going to protect it until grandfather can come back and tell me what it is I have to do. I have nowhere else to go. "

He looked at them, blue eyes, yellow eyes and white eyes. "I hope you can let me stay here with you."

"Of course, you belong here with us. " Naruto was always direct and straight to the point.

"I don't really mind, just as long as you don't get on my nerves," Kiba said. Sasuke couldn't promise anything since Kiba's nerves were all over the place. He simply smiled.

"I promise not to hurt you, Sasuke-kun. Please stay with us."


End file.
